Wildflowers
by WeebCommander
Summary: "Come home to me, Levy. I miss you...everyone does... " Something is very wrong. Gajevy. Multi-chapter. Eventual Lemon. Romantic Drama/Mystery/Wild Ride.
1. A Mother's Love

**Hey everyone!Some notes before we get started- this is my second post. It will become a multi chapter piece and I'm far enough ahead at this point to begin posting occasionally.**

 **This will be very different from my first fiction post. The structure is highly experimental on my part, but I'm hoping someone can appreciate it somewhere out there. If something seems odd or out of place, I promise you here and now: there is a reason for it.**

 **I don't want to go giving away plot, so I will just hope someone out there has the patience to make the discoveries as they happen. Thank you all for reading and I hope that you will enjoy! *bows deeply***

"Well, when life gives you lemons," the reassuring lilt of her mother's voice echoed faintly, a sepia-tinted image of her winning smile pressing through the darkness.

"I like lemons!" A child squealed with excitement, the sound booming, surrounding the flickering face that now grinned even more easily.

"I know you do my sweet girl." The woman's matronly patience bubbling with amusement. "What I mean is we all need to make the best out of the worst of times. I'll always help out as much as I can to make sure there's sugar on your slice before you eat it."

"I'll get sticky!!" The image bounced up and down before an arm reached forward to still the view.

"That's okay. We'll just wash your hands." There was so much kindness in her words, a warm feeling overtook the darkness and the cotton-soft blanket of sleep soothed like a balm.

"I love you momma," the picture going dark against the white cotton of her mother's dress.

"And I love you, my little Levy girl."


	2. That Could Have Gone Better

**Chapter 1: That Could Have Gone Better**

~~

The light of day caused her to stir. It was impossible to get any sleep with the transparent curtains allowing an offensive amount of light through. At first, Levy had thought she'd left the fabric to one side after one of her many evenings observing the starlight from her home.

Upon visual inspection, once her eyesight had adjusted to the sunlight, she remembered she was no longer in her big city apartment. There were no sirens or trolley bells or the drunken rants of vagrants outside her window. Though she didn't necessarily miss these sounds, she found the silence of mountain living to be even more deafening.

The first day Levy had spent on the property, she'd even mumbled to herself about missing the crazy cat lady three doors down. Miss Porlyuska had lived there long before Levy and her mother, and as such thought she ruled the roost. Her door always stood ajar with any number of animals milling into the hall. Once the girl had bent to give a friendly pat to a surly looking tomcat who had immediately bristled, hissed and scampered into the elder's lap.

"Damn brats," she'd spat, "You leave my little Macarov alone!" To which the squashed-faced cat howled in agreement, it's watery eyes drooping in opposite directions.

After time had passed, Levy almost appreciated that even if old Porlyuska wasn't fond of people, her animals appeared to be well-fed and comfortable living with her. The thought made her homesick even after the last month had come and gone. Today was a new day, though, and it held more excitement than the day before.

"WAKE UP!"

A thud against the springs of her mattress shot Levy's petite body skyward. Legs stick straight in alarm, she yelped with her unexpected flight against the wall beside her. When she bounced back out of orbit (her bed), she was immediately tackled with golden hair spilling onto her face.

"Happy Birthday, Levy!!"

Blowing her best friend's locks from her face, she choked out between the vice-like hug, "Th-thanks Lucy!"

The blond finally released her and smiled. Levy had always been a bit jealous of just how beautiful her friend was, and the bountiful assets she claimed. Even now she could almost feel her lacking breasts seem to invert under the imposing weight of Lucy's chest.

"I have a surprise for you!!" She sang, her eyes twinkling with suppressed excitement. "But you need to get out of bed, Miss McGarden!"

With that she leapt from her perch and practically skipped from the room humming in anticipation. "Hurry up! You're an adult now so you can't sleep in, sleepy head!"

"I'm 23! And you can call me 'sleepy head' when you figure out how not to be late with your morning chores on most days," Levy called after her, grinning at her friend's infectious good nature. A raspberry blown from the other room signaled she'd won that exchange. Lucy 0, Levy 1.

After cleaning up in the shared bathroom, Levy tried to contain her azure hair in a ponytail but found most of the unruly strands fell about her neckline in protest. "Still short," she sighed, instead reaching for her favorite floral headband drawing the bangs from her eyes.

Taking a moment before heading out, she observed herself in the mirror's reflection. Nothing seemed different, in spite of being a year older. Levy was still painfully small for her liking, never having fully reached the 5' mark, and the playful dress she wore only exaggerated her youth with its bright orange color and it's white daisy lace trim. Would she eventually have to give up things like this in order to be taken seriously?

Taking a last look at herself, she flipped the switch to the parlour lights and jogged out into the breakfast nook where the typical chaos had already ensued.

"Get your own bacon, _dustbrain_!" Grey slid his plate away from the nearing fingers and swatted them away, his dark eyes narrowed at his coworker sitting kitty-corner across the broad wooden table.

" _Maaaan_ , you're hoarding them and you're just letting it sit there to _stare at me!_ " Burst the would-be thief as he whined and pointed accusingly at the other man. "Put it in your mouth before I do! It's torture!"

" _That's what she said_..." mumbled Cana between her bites of biscuit, causing a snicker around the table. Her sly eyes rounding on Natsu, who had begun to pout at his empty plate.

" ** _Oy_** , Luigi, gimme some'a yours!" He demanded, his pink spikes swaying with the turn of his face.

"That's not my name." Lucy said with practiced ease as she maliciously enjoyed her bacon, taking agonizingly slow nibbles on the crunchy piece in her hand. "You had yours, so stop acting like you haven't eaten in days." For as loving as the blonde was with her, she had no tolerance for her pink-haired friend. Although Levy suspected there was a fondness between them that made it easy to be vicious and, as she had suspected, the blonde tossed a few pieces onto his plate.

"What am I gunna _do_ with you?" Lucy sighed, earning her his toothiest grin before he tucked in.

Eating had always been an adventure here at Fairy Tail. The ranch housed a good many people of varying talents to care for the livestock, farm and general upkeep. Some were more vital than others, and Levy saw herself as the latter, having very little skill in any physical labor.

When her mother had suddenly fallen ill and passed over the course of spring's season, Levy had had no family left to keep her stable financially. She had graduated from college despite the tragedy- insisting on finishing as it had been so important to her mom. It was only a few days after she was gone that her daughter walked, tears streaming down her cheeks and clutching her mother's framed photo between her pale arms.

Afterword, her Lucy had been a big help to her in making arrangements for which she couldn't ever thank her properly. She had even gotten Levy a job at Fairy Tail, something she had desperately needed financially when she could no longer afford the rent. Despite having to leave the physical memories of the place she had been with her mother behind, she found little things still kept her alive in her thoughts.

Wild poppies had been her favorite flower. Their varying shades of oranges, reds and purples grew sporadically in the fields outside the stables and lined her day when she'd gaze up from her work. It was as if her mother was approving of Levy's time here, however brief it may be.

"Come _on,_ slow poke!!" Lucy called over her shoulder, interrupting the bookworm's thoughts.

"I have a job to do ya know!" The blunette whined, knowing the load would pile up if she didn't get anything done. "I need to get those bulbs in the ground now or we'll have a late harvest!"

The blond only quickened her pace. "Jet and Droy have you covered! So no worrying about plants today, birthday girl!"

Those two were always looking for ways to get her attention. Guilt gnawed at her throat; there was never an easy way to let someone down, especially when they happened to have a best friend to compete against. When she had been given the task of keeping the gardens up, it had been Jet and Droy who had taught her the essentials.

Even with this knowledge Levy made mistakes, planting too deep or shallow, or overwatering. The more she learned the more she realised that, like people, each plant had it's own special combination of needs. The small library in the farm house only unlocked so many of these secrets, and so she was learning all the time from them.

Somehow it felt like she was taking advantage of their feelings and kindness.

"I hope they don't get carried away, or I'll be out a job," she mused to herself, following her friend into the field. The tall grass brushed her leggings, leaving trails of morning dew across her shins.

"I hope you're ready! Cuz I'm finally taking you out!" Lucy called. When Levy rounded a lone apple tree, she found two saddled horses with packs prepped. They were lovely creatures, standing tall beside even her long- legged bestie. One was a palomino, it's startling white mane contrasting against a tanned ochre body and the other a dappled grey, it's dark muzzle grazing lazily at the tree's base.

Levy shifted, her nerves getting the better of her. There had been no opportunity for her to learn to ride, though most every hand at the ranch did. While she'd bugged her friend for weeks about it so she could fit in a bit better, she found the sight of the animals intimidating now.

"Come here, silly!" Lucy laughed, "They won't bite- not like Happy. Natsu never taught him manners so he nips, but Virgo and Aries are pretty easy going." Reaching out a hand toward the grey shoulder covered in varying sizes of darker grey spots, Levy stroked her broad back. The food-focussed steed took no notice.

"C'mon, I'll help you up."

Mounting wasn't altogether a difficult task, but Levy's nerves seemed to agitate the beast once she actually got her feet in the stirrups. Lucy talked to the horse in a light, soothing tone that seemed to help the cloud-colored horse to settle. A tension was easing from her shoulders as she took in the sensation of the broad midsection beneath her and it's gently shifting weight. Tucking a stray blue curl behind her ear, she sighed out her remaining reservations.

Lucy guided them at first until her friend could get used to the sensation. Aries was a timid creature, but gentle all the same; Levy could almost sense her shy nature in the way she carefully regarded her presence. "You're so pretty, Miss Aries, look at all these speckles." With the blunette's gaining confidence, the horse held its head a little higher, seeming to look back now and then to check in with her passenger.

"Oh, I knew you two would be fast friends!" Lucy beamed, patting Virgo, a horse altogether different in spirit. "You two can grow more comfortable together! Though she does like to tag along with her friends, so I don't know if you'll really be able to work with her beyond the stables, at least by yourself."

The thought of going out alone made her shiver. "I think I'll be fine with supervision for the foreseeable future," she laughed, taking hold of the reigns.

In the field, Lucy taught her the basics of riding. When a few hours had passed, they walked their horses to the troughs for water. July was becoming particularly warm, the horizon holding a haze of wavy heat above it when you caught the right light.

"Let's take them to graze," Lucy said, patting Virgo's forhead before mounting, "I have a new book to show you." Levy took a few tries to get up due to her size, but once her boot was secured in the stirrup, she clamored her way into the saddle.

It was a good thing, too, because the old farm truck in the barn had just had its ignition cut, an angry sound like a gunshot exploding from its exhaust pipe when it backfired. The sound startled the horses, causing them to bolt into the field and Levy's heart to race with panic. The rhythmic undulation of the animal's backside beneath her caused her own to bounce off balance, not used to moving with the motion of the animal yet.

" ** _Levy!_** " The blonde screamed after her, finally righting Virgo and taking off like a shot after her friend. " ** _Pull up on the reigns!! Keep talking to her you have to get her to listen!_** "

Hands shaking, Levy pulled up on the leather straps, to which the beast slowed but began shaking her head against the tension and drawing Levy forward from her seat.

" **Woah!! It's _okay_ , Aries!**" She tried to sound supportive but was concerned she was worsening the situation when the grey shoulders lifted and Levy had to hold onto the horn in front of her, desperate to stay on when her horse reared up unexpectedly. She was fighting dizzying tears now, her fear and frustration stinging the corners of her eyes.

A shadow passed in front of the sun and a glove reached out to take her reigns, righting her. A male voice spoke, calming the mare; blue hair strung over her face, obscuring her view.

" _Hey hey hey_..." he crooned, his voice was gravelly but gentle with Aries, almost as if he were willing the horse into submission. "That's enough now, yer okay."

" _Levy_! Thank _goodness_!!" She heard her best friend gallop to her side, Virgo snorting in her ear. "That was so scary! I'm so sorry that stupid truck-"

"You instructin' her?" The voice turned away from the horse to round on the blonde. "This _clearly_ ain't the right horse for that." His tone took a reprimanding turn, his consonants spat angrily.

"Aries is a **great** horse! She's gentle and easy going what-"

But Lucy's words were cut off as the man moved in on her, his horse parting the two women but still keeping hold of Aries' reigns. "She's also _nervous_ 'n _shy_ 'round new people if I had'ta guess. How'n the hell would you feel if she'd fallen? Could'a broke Shorty's leg or worse."

Lucy was angry now, " **Who the hell do you think-** "

But this new voice was in on her before she could formulate a sentence. "A year or two'a geldin' a horse don't make you an expert, blondie. I can tell you ain't had much experience so why don't ya leave the instructin' to those who know something about horses. Yer bridle's loose, by the way." To this, the blond fell quiet and looked at her horse's face, embarrassed.

A heavy hand fell on top of Levy's head and she peered up through her trembling bangs, still holding the horn with white knuckles. "Y'okay, Shrimp?" The sun was so bright all she could see was the silhouette of a tall, broad man looming over her.

Had she been in her right mind, she would have groused at being called something so demeaning. "I-I'm okay," She stuttered, her anxiety easing under his touch. It was unnerving being unable to see his face.

A grunt was the only reply when the warmth left her crown. Levy heard the man's horse gallop away toward Fairy Tail. Getting herself upright in the saddle, she looked back at the gruff stranger, growing smaller until the trees around the farm had swallowed him.

Long black locks blowing in the breeze beneath the brim of his hat and a black horse. The two seemed to act as one in their movements until they were completely out of her sight. A heavy thump against her rib cage made her cheeks flush, but whether it was from embarrassment or something else entirely, she couldn't decide.

Getting off her horse, Lucy tightened Virgo's bridle, her face was a bright shade of red. "M-my cinch is broken. We should walk back on foot." Lucy was a prideful woman, and she loved her horses; having irresponsibility implied of her must have stung, like an affront to how much she cared. Even now she avoided Levy's gaze.

"Lu..." The blunette got down clumsily due to her height, "...it's _okay_. The thought was really nice..."

Blond hair shaking, Levy heard her friend sniffle, and knew she was trying to hold back tears. "You could'a been super hurt, Levy. I don't know what I would have done if she'd fallen on you or taken off into the wilderness..."

"But she _didn't_ ," the petite woman countered, her hand resting on Lucy's elbow, "I'm okay! And really the experience was... **eye-opening**!" Her mind wandered, thinking of the heat of his hand, the sound of his voice...

The blond laughed wryly at that, pulling Virgo in toe across the field. "Happy birthday, Levy, _let's go drop a horse on you_!"

Now she was giggling, her friend's long legs taking one step to her two. "I'm 23! _Let's do something reckless_!" Both girls rounded the apple tree in the throes of laughter and set off for the stables. After giving Aries a brush and taking the riding equipment off of her, she could see the truth in the stranger's words. She had a kind disposition, but her nerves made her skittish. Levy turned over the mornings events in her mind and decided she was done riding horses. For now, anyway.

Lucy had run off to help with lunch preparation, leaving Levy to catch up once she had secured Aries in her stall. The wooden slats beneath her groaned with each step as she headed for the doorway. A moment passed until she was made aware that her feet were no longer taking her forward; confused, Levy turned to find a kind set of large, brown eyes staring at her with a mouth full of her dress.

"O-oh!! Give me that you silly thing!" She tugged at her hem, watching it slide from its lips. The horse nickered playfully, the bridge of its nose bucking affectionately against her chest. With unsure hands, Levy reached out to caress the black fur.

The stallion sighed, the hot air blowing a few strands of hair back. Levy had no idea horses could be so sweet. Tracing his strong cheeks, she examined the healed pink scar that rested over its left eye. The gash had to have been deep at one point, and she thought it lucky the horse hadn't lost its sight completely.

What a beautiful creature; so strong and powerful yet gentle.

" _Levy_! Come on!!" The blunette started at Lucy's call but the beast simply turned it's ears to observe the sound, his lips fumbling for her skirt again.

Levy laughed and pulled her clothing away before it could be snatched up. "Sorry, I gotta go," she placed a kiss on his forehead, "Maybe I'll see you around?" Patting his chin, she headed out the front door, hearing a protesting whinny as she closed it.


	3. The Dignified Art of Digging Holes

_Good morning! Pleased to find a few lurkers already, so heres a second chapter to tide you over until I'm able to correct my various sleepy writing mistakes._ _I'd like to take the opportunity to wiggle my fingers at you all in response to any feelings of corniness you may have gotten from the previous chapter. Remember what i said about things happening for a reason._ _Also, I had forgotten entirely about a little nudge I had put in this chapter about missing silverware. Gajeel comes to the farmhouse, instantly the cutlery needs to be replenished! XD_ _Enjoy, friends. Thanks for looking._

 **Chapter 2: The Dignified Art of Digging Holes**

Lunch was, as usual, filled with bickering. A rather large bee had been in Natsu's bonnet after he'd had to chase down a few cattle that had split from the herd and the blame, of course, had landed on Grey's inattention. Unsurprising, the man retorted that the "Cotton Candy Idiot" had been overly focussed on getting his next meal instead of the task at hand.

Either way, the row lifted Levy's spirits, and she had to wonder whether her new friend would need a treat later. Not knowing what the horse would enjoy, she wrapped a variety of fruit in a napkin after the workers had had their fill and deposited the bundle in her room for later. There was work to be done and she needed a change of clothes.

The trowel was growing heavier as time went on; a section of dirt needed to be loosened for planting but sat too near the house to get the electric tiller into without causing property damage. The earth was packed, but it had a wealth of red wigglers in each shovel full she moved, so it was doubtless whatever Jet and Droy had intended to grow here would surely thrive.

Wiping sweat from her brow with her dirt-speckled forearm, she groaned when she felt the granules scrape against her face. Never in her life had she gotten so dirty at a job. It was taking some getting used to, but others around here were just as filthy so she didn't feel the need to be self-conscious about it anymore.

Movement caught her attention at the corner of her eye and she looked up, seeing a man staring at her from a few feet away. His gaze was harsh beneath a worn black stetson and his snug fit jeans brushed the railing of the porch. Most alarming was the myriad of body piercings decorating his face and arms, their metal shining just like the fastenings to his red plaid shirt.

"Can I help you?" Levy asked, the level of annoyance in her voice surprising her. Maybe the morning HAD put a bite in her attitude.

Saying nothing, the stranger strode toward her, his black locks swaying behind him in the breeze. A small coil of fear tightened in her throat at his approach, but Levy steeled her face, leering up at him until he finally came to a stop in front of her. Having lived in the big city most of her life, she knew she needed to stand her ground or accept being walked on. There was a moment of silence, his red eyes boring into hers before he held a hand rake out in front of her.

Stunned, Levy took the tool from his hand. Whatever she had been expecting, this hadn't been it. Examining its metal fingers, she realized that they would probably save her a load of time and energy on her project. Even if the ground was very stubborn, the scratching motion would break it up more easily, at least until she could get to some of the softer dirt underneath. Levy looked up to thank him, but he wasn't in front of her anymore.

Pulling her blue hair from her face with a glove, she found him; hands in his pockets heading in the direction of the owner's property. Now that his back was turned, Levy recognized him.

Strong and powerful yet gentle. Just like her new horse friend.

A fluttering caused her to clutch the hand rake to her breast, her knuckles worrying her sternum. Breathing felt difficult, until she realized she was attempting to exhale when she had nothing left in her lungs. Yet, even curiouser, she felt full.

Inhaling deeply, Levy bent low to continue her work half-heartedly; there was something of a distraction waggling itself in front of her job. Luckily, using the hand rake proved efficient, allowing her to finish her task much more quickly than anticipated with all puzzling sensations aside.

Dinner sat cold on her plate after a few bites, her mind having run away once again. Lucy was the only one to notice while the others screamed obscenities over Mirajane's fresh baked apple pie and missing silverware.

"Levy? Are you okay?" The blond questioned, her eyebrows drawn together in concern. "You're not eating..."

After a moment of silence, Lucy shook her friends shoulder gently. With a far-away face, Levy turned to meet her glance.

"Hmm? Oh...right... sorry," she said, shoveling food into her mouth in a way strangely reminiscent of the pink-haired garbage disposal.

"No need to apologise," Lucy still watched her friend closely with narrowed eyes as the table began to thin out. "Whatcha thinking about?"

If there was one thing she'd learned over the course of their friendship, it was that lying to Lucy would merely delay the inevitable. Sooner or later when things had come to a head, Levy would undoubtedly explode leaving her mixed emotions in her wake. However, this was not the place to talk; Mirajane was notorious for her gossip and even though she had her back to them in the kitchen full of humming equipment and dishes clanking, everyone swore she had a demon's hearing.

"My room." Levy said as she got up to bus her plate, leaving Lucy to follow suit. Turning the corner into the bedroom hallway, the blunette wondered what she could tangibly say. All the same, she signaled to her friend to shut the door before settling on the bed beside her.

"Alright, girl, spill it." The blond commanded. An excited smile of possible scandal settling on her pink lips.

"It's nothing really." Levy started, finding her eyes crawling away from her friends in favor of the floor. She told Lucy of her small encounter and how she'd made the connection with who he was. Her friend's grin only widened although there was a hint of something confused in her eyes.

"I guess he's Met's son," Lucy offered, crossing her legs beneath her, "When you were out at the stables he was in the kitchen with his father checking in with Mirajane on supplies. Definitely not the friendly sort... I'm a bit surprised, girl!" She laughed and nudged Levy's shoulder.

"Surprised at what?" Fingers twisting in front of her, she tried to make all the connections she'd just been handed. The stranger was the owner's son, and yet as far as she could tell, the narrowed face beneath the marred stetson held no resemblance to the broad square-jawed Met. Perhaps there had been something she'd missed in tying the two together given all the distracting piercings and lack of eyebrows.

All the same, the stranger's face swam over her mind again, hailing a rosy tint from her cheeks.

"Levy?" Once again she was being shaken on the shoulder by her friend.

"Hmm? Yeah??"

Lucy's mouth fell open in shock, "You haven't heard a word I said, have you!??"

Levy's face fell, embarrassed at her inattentiveness. "Sorry, Lu, what did you say?"

Lucy laughed and shook her head, putting a hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't matter now. You've answered without knowing it." Playfully poking her arm repeatedly, the blonde practically sang out, "Ooooooo giiirl! You got it baaaaaad!"

Horrified, Levy pushed away and crawled backward until she met the foot of the mattress. "I-I do NOT! Why would you think THAT!? I barely know him and he hasn't exactly been friendly so much as helpful."

Following her bestie, Lucy flopped down on the blunette's middle and embraced her around the waist, laughing in glee at the petite woman's torment. "Oh my god my little Levy is growing up and thinking about creepy assholes with weird piercings! It's every mother's dream!"

Realising what she'd said a bit too late, the blond recoiled, her eyes suddenly anguished, looking into Levy's grieving stare. "...Lev... I'm... sorry I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine." Levy's body had gone rigid at the reminder that she couldn't go to her mom for advice anymore. Surely, the strongest woman she'd ever known would have been able to help sort her feelings out. "I feel a little tired, Lu. I think I'm going to shower and hit the hay."

Reluctantly Lucy let go of Levy's midsection in favor of grasping her hand for a comforting squeeze. "Alright," she answered, bumping her forehead affectionately against her friend's, "I'll be up reading for a couple more hours, so if you need to talk..."

Levy simply nodded.

The moon had already risen when she had finally had enough tossing and turning in bed. The open window sent the luke warm summer air across her naked stomach and seemed to push her to stand. Unsure of what to do, Levy slipped her feet into her flats and adjusted her tank top back down over her torso. The napkin of fruit sat on her desk, and she wondered if horses stayed up to look at the night sky.

Retrieving the bundle, Levy crept from her room being careful of the creakier floor boards.When the night air enveloped her more fully, she felt invigorated by the fresh stillness of the air.No one else was awake to notice such a feeling, and she felt blessed it had happened upon her this evening when her mind was particularly heavy.

The feeling of being made new washed over her, and she shed the sadness that had tethered her to a small sort of hopelessness. Pausing halfway to the stables, Levy paused to remove her shoes and revel in the feeling of earth beneath her. Looking up at the sky, she thanked whatever powers that be for the cleansing feeling of connecting with nature.

The stalls were quiet when she entered the building as quietly as she could, moonlight pouring into the windows to guide her bare feet. A snorting sound made her look up, anxious at not being alone. However a large black head poked out from a stall, with dark eyes glistening in the low light.

"Heeyyyy" She whispered, meeting his snout with her palm and brushing it across his cheek. "I didn't know if you'd be up, but I guess you couldn't sleep either, huh?"

The horse rubbed against her hand, his hair was almost velvety on his snout and tickled her finger tips. "Sorry. I hate not being able to sleep." Sitting on the bench, the animal rested it's heavy head on her shoulder.

Stroking his face absentmindedly, Levy looked out at the stars twinkling against a cloudy black-blue sky. "I was thinking about mom again," she admitted, as if the horse had been her confidant for years, "She was always so strong for me, especially when it was the two of us."

A nudge against her frame prompted her to continue. "Dad died after I turned eight. He was a good man- you'd have liked him- always telling me wild stories. He was a writer, like me, but oh... was he good at it."

Levy sniffed gently as a tear fell onto her new friends cheek. "They're both gone now and I just feel sorta... lost. I don't know if you can relate."

They were quiet for a moment, the two souls enjoying the tepid evening side by side. A breeze rolled the smell of the wildflowers into the window, making her inhale deeply to capture their wondrous scent. Slowly she let her sorrow flow out of her and let the comfort take.

"It's amazing how you can still smell them even at night." Levy began, her silent companion sniffing her pale blue hair. "They're how I knew I should stay here a while, the flowers. Mom loved wild poppies."

Levy realized her companion had suddenly fixated his attention on the bundle in her lap. His mouth grasped for it, making her giggle a little louder than she meant to.

"Yes, yes I brought you a midnight snack. Wasn't that nice of me??" Setting the package onto the bench next to her, Levy untied the knots with some difficulty as the horse saw fit to stick his nose in front of her trying to get into the food.

"Now don't be so impatient," She hissed playfully, patting the bridge of his face. "I wasn't sure what you'd like so I have a few different things..."

Holding a pear out in her hand, the horse nibbled at it but turned his head back to the package. "No? Let's see... how about an orange slice?" Again the horse ignored the offered fruit.

"Hmmm, a picky one huh? Let's see..."

"He likes Kiwis." A gravely voice offered behind her.

"Oh, kiwis! Well I have a few of those. Let's see how... you..."

Levy turned her head when she finally came to the realization they weren't alone. The horse noisily helped himself next to her as a face leaned into the moonlight from the corner of the horse's stall.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I didn't realize- I hope I didn't wake you!" A deep red settled on her cheeks; exactly how much had he heard? Having all that information at the fingertips of a stranger didn't sit well with her, and a raw, exposed feeling burned her throat.

"Nah. I've been up." The man said. He sure wasn't one for words, Levy thought. However, there was something in his ruby eyes and maybe the way he settled back into the dark that betrayed a social anxiety or at very least a social ignorance of sorts.

"...I hope you don't mind me feeding your horse. He was awfully affectionate earlier... and I couldn't sleep so..." Levy's mind started running, unsure of how her presence had been taken, "...and, well, oh! I never thanked you earlier... for helping me on that horse... uh, or for the hand rake... oh I was so rude I thought you were just staring at me and-"

"You sure talk a lot." He interrupted, no hint of annoyance in his voice, just simple observation.

Levy's nerves jumped even further. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"You ain't put me out any." He said simply. She could hear him shift against the partition but it was unnerving to know he could see her but not vice versa. It put a stone in her stomach.

Things were still for a second. Levy anxiously watching the corner and coping with the hair-raising sensation of being observed. Finally she fidgeted with her hands and whispered, "I should leave so you can get to sleep. Sorry to have disturbed you."

When she turned to leave, his voice rang out again, this time with a strange inflection to it she couldn't place. "You don't need'ta go...Lily likes long talks."

He didn't want her to go. That was the strange quality to his voice. The anxious emotion sounded so odd coming from him, from a stranger. Without seeing his face, Levy couldn't exactly confirm it, but the possibility prompted her to stay. Turning, she found a black muzzle inches from her face and she smiled,gently hugging Lily's head.

"You like long stories, Lily?" Her grin widened when his mouth soaked a strand of her hair causing it to stick straight out.

"He likes you." The man remarked from his shadowy corner. "My horse is nothin' if not a good judge'a character."

Levy stroked the horse's mane and turned her attention to where she thought the man sat. "Really? And what do you think?" The brazen question tinted her face, but she told herself it was dark and it probably wasn't noticeable. Probably. Right?

After a moment's thought, a face came almost shyly into the light, "I think yer short and suck at diggin' holes."

Levy burst out laughing, startling a few of the horses before her hand flew to her mouth to stifle the sound. "At least I know how to talk to people without skulking in a dark corner like a creep!" She retorted, toothy grin betraying her amusement when she attempted to sound angry.

A half smile inched across one side of his face and he leaned even further forward exposing his jagged collar bones that peaked from a black undershirt. "Scared'a the boogie man, Shortstuff?"

Levy's heart nearly gave out; even with such a small grin on his face, the man was so devastatingly beautiful. His hair seemed at one with the shadows, save for their glossy sheen reflecting in the moonlight. Tan, clear skin with just a hint of shine from the heat, the tops of his broad shoulders nearly visible in the low light. She swallowed trying to come back to reality.

"I'm not scared." She replied lamely, trying to shake off the pounding in her chest. "Does 'the boogie man' have a name, or shall I figure out a cute nickname like 'Boo' or 'Mr. Oogie' ? Oh I like that-,"

"Gajeel." He interjected before she could find any more stupid things to call him.

"Sorry?" Levy's brain derailed mid-thought.

"My name. It's Gajeel." He repeated this time slinking backward slightly. For someone so tough looking, he sure was shy.

"What kind of a name is 'Gajeel'?" Levy thought aloud without thinking, her tone pensive instead of incredulous.

"What kind'a name is 'Levy'??" The raven-haired man shot back, annoyance coloring the way he spat her name.

"It's a family name!" The petite woman bristled, leaning over the stall door at him. "My Grandmother's name, thank you very much! Yours sounds like some pissed-off dwarf."

"Oi! Yer talkin' awful big for someone who can't reach the top shelf when gettin' groceries." Gajeel fully grinned, now on his feet and stepping fully into the light. His hands sat on his narrow hips, and she could see the rippling of his muscular torso in the shadows they produced. Sharp canines gleaming with a hint of what should have felt dangerous but instead the girl found charming.

She laughed again, her nerves making the corners of her eyes water. "You're right," She confessed, "I can't!"

"Gihihi...!" Gajeel's laugh was a strange but free sound that rocketed up from his low belly. "Don't actually admit it, Halfpint! You're terrible at defendin' yerself!" He closed the distance between them leaning forward with his grip settling on the stall door on either side of her, his amusement still rocking his torso.

The man's proximity stung her cheeks, but she dared not move, her pride rooting her to the spot. "Defend myself from what exactly?" She too brought her face closer, causing a curious range of emotions to swim over his as she bent forward within a foot of him, standing on the bench to meet his height. "What are you gunna do, Mister Angry...Dwarf... Man..."

The vinegar in her voice fizzled when she heard the unmistakable sound of a horse relieving itself in the stall beside him. Gajeel turned to his horse, mortified, and she observed an unmistakable rosey tint on his high cheek bones.

"Yer one classy horse, Pantherlily." The man sighed letting his head fall limp in front of him before unlocking the stall door, swinging it open with Levy still on it.

"C'mon. There's a couch in the main house." She said with a laugh in her throat. Hopping down from the bench, the petite woman took his hand and began leading him out of the stables.

Only realizing how intimate the action was after the fact, Levy attempted to control her shiver at the sensation of her tiny digits wrapped over the calloused meat of his scarred hand. Still she proceeded, taking the warmth of his palm closing around hers as a sign of acceptance if nothing else.

The feeling was comforting, and she felt herself relax, looking back at him to flash him a smile when they reached the front door. He was tall, much taller than she'd thought now that he stood beside her, his deep set eyes focussed down at her. Levy drew a finger up to her lips for him to be quiet before pushing through the entrance into the quiet farm house. She could be distracted by him later when she wasn't in danger of making a fool of herself.

Gajeel shut the door with his free hand, being as discreet as he could while still securing the deadbolt. Levy watched his careful movements, only leading him once again when he had turned to meet her gaze expectantly. Shuffling one after the other into the living area, the blunette guided him to a scuffed leather couch and stood on the tips of her toes to breath into his ear that she'd be back with a pillow and blanket.

Finally releasing his hand, Levy turned to creep back through the hall into her room for the green and tan afghan that laid at the foot of her bed. Grabbing her second pillow, she crept carefully back through the hallway, her view completely obstructed by the bedding she carried. Luckily she knew the house well enough by now she could navigate the turns sans sight.

A quiet snicker was heard when she entered the living room; Levy thought about how ridiculous she must look- like a giant walking blob. Flopping her burden onto the couch, she began smoothing it out to properly make a bed but a large hand gently caught her wrist and pulled her upright.

Levy looked up, confused from her task and found Gajeel's face beside hers.

"Le'mme take care'a that." He whispered into her ear, his warm breath caressing it and making her mouth run dry. "Get some sleep, Shrimp."

Levy puffed out her cheeks in annoyance at his series of degrading nicknames for her, but Gajeel just smiled his half smile and put a hand on her head. "Stupid Gajeel." She hissed glaring half heartedly up at him from under his arm.

Allowing his hand to drop from her crown, his fingers ran through her hair and down behind her ear as he turned to crawl onto the couch. His eyes watched her leave, their stoney attentiveness unwavering. Levy felt stiff, her body moving on its own back to her room.

When she'd finally laid down, she ran her fingers over the place he'd practically caressed and closed her eyes. Sleep came much easier despite her racing heart; Levy's dreams were light and unburdened and the night sky folded over her like a blanket.


	4. These Aren't My Words

**Okay, you all are just too sweet. So here is a small chapter. Its going to be pretty crazy from here on out, so prepare yourselves for stuff and things. Updates will be further inbetween, because i have some major decisions to make creatively.** **Oh btw, I don't own FairyTail. I hope you all enjoy nonetheless.**

 **Chapter 3: These Aren't My Words**

The next morning came too quickly; with a disgruntled growl, she shoved her screaming clock from the night stand. To her extreme displeasure, this did not stop the incessant alarm from pounding away at her patience. Opting to pull the plug and bask in the silence, she was swallowed up once again by the sleepy stupor and her eyes drifted shut.

"Levy?"

A firm jostle of her shoulder roused her once again, though this time she was able to pull fully away from her fatigue when the sight of Lucy dressed and already dirty finally sunk in.

" **SHIT! WHAT TIME IS IT**!?" Crimped, wild blue tendrils engulfed most of her vision but the concern in Lucy's face didn't go unnoticed. Neglecting to pull her hair from her eyes, Levy jumped out of bed and began rifling through her dresser for fresh clothing.

A hand grasped her shoulder and turned the frantic girl around; her friend brushed the unruly locks from her face and gave a relieved smile. "Levy! You're _fine_!!" The blond reassured her, "It's a little after noon, but Jet and Droy had to go into town to grab the bulbs Met ordered- so relax for a second! You couldn't have started at normal time anyway!"

Realization hit Levy square in the face. "Y-you let me sleep..." Her arms, clutching her clean clothes sank to her sides, a pair of shorts falling to the floor. Lucy bent to pick it up for her and hesitated at the state of her friend's feet.

"Do some late night wandering?" She smiled at the blunette who promptly hid her reaction in favor of turning to brush out her hair. The embarrassment of having slept in and remembering WHY she had done so crept across her face in a pink stain.

"I couldn't sleep." Levy confessed, untangling the worst of the knots and beginning to change into her work clothes. Avoiding her friend's gaze, she grabbed the shorts from her and pulled them over her ample thighs and posterior. "So I took a walk. It was... nice."

Something unsaid was laid between Levy's words, and Lucy took note, her eyebrows raising in consideration of the dark skin beneath her friend's weary eyes. Deciding to let it go for now, the blond headed for the door. "We have a meeting in a few minutes in the living room. I told a few people you weren't feeling well last night."

Grateful for having some semblance of privacy about her evening, Levy followed her friend out into the chaos. Lunch was spread out among multiple coffee tables, although the platters had all but been picked clean upon their arrival. Seeing one last sandwich half on a platter across the room, the bookworm made a mad dash , very aware that an overly food-possessive wrangler was making for it at the same time.

Snatching the food from the plate, Levy shoved it whole into her mouth as Natsu's fingers closed around nothing.

" **OY!** " He glowered at girl's stuffed cheeks, "I was gunna eat that, **Levy**!"

Once she'd swallowed enough to speak, she grinned slyly at the pinkette. " 'Snooze ya lose, Natsu. Don't pretend you haven't had three helpings of everything already."

"Gihi!"

When Levy heard his laugh she sat down hard on Lucy's lap behind her and fixated on the man across the room, completely neglecting her friend's protests as she was shoved off. Gajeel's intense leer made her shiver, his half smile curled in her direction. Apparently his expression was something of an oddity, because a few of the more seasoned members of Fairy Tail halted their conversations in favor of observing in awe.

Ignoring the state of the group, Met walked into the room washing his hands off with a dish towel and stood next to his son. When Levy finally saw the men side by side, she could hardly see the relation; her boss's pale-pink skin was freckled, his steely grey eyes showing the age of a man having known work. They did have a certain rigidity about their movements and speech that could be considered similar, she thought, but that could be learned from years spent together.

Square jaw fixed, Met looked to his son and blinked. "Y'okay?" He grunted at the boy's amused expression that quickly faded to a stoic if not bored form of apathy.

" _What_?" Gajeel graveled back, his face screwing up unpleasantly at the way his father continued to stare incredulously.

Shaking his head to right his priorities, Met addressed his work family. "Okay, all, a few things: one, the return of my son. I think most of you know Gajeel, but if you haven't had the pleasure yet, I'm _sorry_ ahead of time."

His son's eyes narrowed, the majority of the staff giggling at his expense. Levy wondered if he was being sarcastic or not, but smiled in relief when Met nudged Gajeel's ribs playfully with a hint of a grin in his thin lips.

" _Secondly_ ," the man barked, quelling the laughter instantly, "We'll be expanding our 'townie' parking." Focusing on a particularly difficult piece of dirt worked into his callouses, he continued, "I'm sure you all remember trying to get the truck out to the road last year and the **shit show** that was."

A few groans and many nods echoed around the group. There had been so many tourists interested in the natural charm Fairy Tail had that they had blocked off the exit out of the ranch. It had taken forever to attempt to find everyone who had driven and move their vehicles into a more favorable position to allow movement.

"I've come to the decision that we will be utilizing the space near the stables for this purpose. There's plenty of room there going unutilized and all we would need to do is level the ground out." Having finally cleaned his hands, Met folded the towel over his arm and crossed it with his other in front of him. "Any objections?"

Levy's heart dropped into her stomach. The flowers... they'd all be trampled or torn out. Panicked, she desperately tried to think of a practical reason to keep the field. The more her heart raced, the more difficult it became to think straight.

Desperate, she looked up to find Gajeel already staring at her, his eyes wide until she looked up. Averting his gaze, he nudged his father with his elbow. "It's a shame, given the good the flowers do," he said, shrugging at no one in particular.

Levy's pulse skipped a beat.

"Meaning _what_ exactly?" Met growled, "You seemed all for it when we spoke last night."

"Thought about it su'more," he said, as if he didn't really care about the outcome. "The pollinators the scent brings are good fer the crops. Unless ya'll enjoy store-bought honeycrisps for pie..."

Most of the group wrinkled their noses. Their apple tree produced the best fruit hands down and the thought of settling for less put a decent amount of unrest into the group. Enough that Met put his hands up in defeat. "Alright I hear you, I hear you. Since you're suddenly so opposed to the idea, what do you propose I do about the parking issue?"

Gajeel faltered at that, his brows coming together above his narrowed red eyes. After a second, he became impatient and threw his hands up at it.

" _I dunno what should be done_ , all I'm sayin' is people come to be _away_ from the city." His voice held his frustration clear out on his sleeve. "What kind'a get away will we be providin' if there ain't _flowers_ to be _lookin'_ at?"

Grey snickered behind his palm to Natsu, " _Who knew old iron-face loved flowers so much?_ "

The pinkette smirked and without lowering his voice he laughed maliciously, "Hey Gajeel, have we finally discovered why you never bring any _ladies_ home to meet Met?"

The raven haired man ground his teeth when his father put a hand on his chest to stop him from the inevitable fist fight. "Maybe you can talk shit about my son's love life when _you_ bring a woman home to Igneel, Dragneel... And Grey, last I checked you were giving the cold shoulder to the only girl who's ever been able to **_tolerate_** you, so if we're reading signs today..."

Loud whooping and hollering ensued along with laughter and playful shoving. "In all seriousness, though, we need parking and I'm running short on options, folks." The man was growing tired of the chaos.

"Ah-umm..." Levy nervously tried to rouse her boss's attention amidst the disorder.

"So if there's no other suggestions.." Met continued above the noise not having heard her.

"Ahem... excuse me... Mr. Metalicana..." She tried again, hoping his full name would garner more attention.

The room was too loud. Grey and Natsu had begun bickering again, sizing each other up physically while Cana cheered drunkenly from the corner.

" ** _SHORTSTACK_ , SPEAK UP**." Gajeel crowed over the noise, his gruff, jagged voice startling the crowd into submission.

Levy put some steam behind her voice, trying not to tremble at being the center of attention. "W-we could use a portion of the field for parking," She began, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap. "It's not optimal to have parking near the stables, considering the health and emotional well being of the horses."

When she looked up, Met was stroking the stubble of his chin in thought, his son looking to him as he considered the option.

"In addition," Levy continued, her voice finding a foothold, "It would be a pleasant walk around the field to the main house. In fact, we could plant more native wildflowers if you so chose."

After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the owner nodded his head. "Any objections?"

None came, spreading a relieved smile across her face. Gajeel looked at her then, something passing behind his eyes, something that never fully surfaced beyond his brow softening.

"Son," Met clapped a heavy hand on his shoulder, giving the boy a start and returning the hard lines to his face when he looked up at his father, "I want you to oversee the project gets done."

Gajeel nodded once in acknowledgement making Levy's heart swell.

The meeting was adjourned, and workers began to filter back to their tasks. She watched father and son exchange a moment of scuffling, Met putting the boy in a playful headlock and grinding his fist into his hair.

"Look at you, growing up and thinking about the **business** ," he grinned and tightened his grip, "Here I thought all this time you didn't care."

Gajeel grimaced beneath his father's armpit "I _don't_! Get off, shitty old man!"

"You know, Gajeel," Met swung his body to one side, dragging his prisoner with him, "One day you'll have kids and you'll tease them just like this. It'll give you _pride_ in that they can handle themselves."

" ** _Pride_**!?" Gajeel roared, trying to pry his father's arms from around his neck, "More like some sick form'a **sadism**! Now let me go, I've got shit ta do!"

Letting go suddenly, Met allowed Gajeel to tumble forward, slapping him on the backside as he doubled over with laughter. Unable to right himself, his son was launched head first into Levy's lap, to which she raised her hands up, unsure how to help. Grasping at her thighs to stabilize himself, the man finally realized who he was groping when he met her wide eyes only inches from his, causing a violent blush to form on his face only rivaled by her own. Quickly getting to his feet he glared at his father and stormed out, saying nothing.

Met snickered louder once he'd left the room. "Kid thinks he's so good at hiding his feelings but he's a goddamn mood ring!" Levy too made her escape, avoiding Lucy's curious stare.

The way his fingers gripped the fleshy part of her thighs...

Shivering involuntarily, she wandered out into the heat, allowing the sun to soak into her bare skin. There were bulbs to plant, and difficult feelings about strangers to avoid.

' _Wild aster_.' Gajeel penned in the shade of Lily's stall. His untidy scroll percussive against the worn leather bound note. There was too much; his thoughts needed to be acknowledged before they consumed him.

 _That's what she reminds me of. The delicate, sweet scent of a crisp spring day. Brisk morning air accompanying my ride to move the herd. Eyes like the dewy hillsides catching the sun's rays; all earthy_ _and...comfortable. Yet thrilling, in the way my heart races to meet the collapsing of lungs, I'm unable to keep up. Somehow unafraid and terrified all at once; A sorceress, with a gentle hold of the raw vessels housing my life's worth._ _What can I do? What could any man do?? I feel powerless to stop the rapidly accelerating nature of our inevitable collision. I am heavy, and the walls close in on my chest to constrict sense and reason- I should not know this feeling._ _Now, I have felt the... grief... of letting go of skin so divine and I am ruined. The wound has deeply rooted in the cavity of my well-being; what could I ever do to be deserving of resting eyes on beauty such as this?_

Pausing bitterly to snap the book shut, Gajeel finished his thought internally: ' _I ain't.'_


	5. A Love Song I've Heard Before

**I just couldn't stay away. Things get heavy from here, so maybe some oddities you've noticed in the last chapter in particular will begin to make sense. If not now, in the next 2 chapters.** **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.**

 **Chapter 4: A Love Song I've Heard Before**

The late hour found Levy restless once again, her antsy legs shifting in front of her. Indecision had made it even more difficult to sleep. She'd laid down, sat up, stood and laid back down again several times, creating an even more frantic state within her. At least if she decided to sleep, she could hold off the urge to get up.

Enough was enough; too sorely tempted into the prospect of another late night meeting, she quickly pulled a t-shirt over her head and crept into the night. Levy's back and knees ached from the laborious afternoon of gardening, but it felt good to stretch out in the cool air. Construction for the new parking area hadn't started yet, but she was sure she could look forward to more that a little pain in her future.

The stable door was slightly ajar when she reached the building, and when she tugged it noiselessly aside she was greeted with an unexpected noise. Pausing, she could identify the soft strumming of a guitar echoing faintly through the wooden stalls.

Levy's curiosity pushed her forward until she met Lily's stall, where the music seemed to be emanating. A deep gravely voice sang as softly as it could from the dark corner, only fingers handling the neck of the instrument could be seen in the moonlight.

" _Hmmm Hmmm... she's a wild blue fairy..._ " Gajeel hummed, Levy's eyes transfixed on the shadows that shifted with his rhythmic motion. Her heart hammered in her chest; his singing was terrible, but somehow she couldn't look away. She couldn't stop feeling hopelessly possessed by a man she hardly knew.

" _...tumblin' swift crashin' inta me... shoobedoba. Keep runnin' can't find a feelin' sweeter...driven further in ta leave me breathless in need..._ "

There was something blooming inside her to the sound of his performance. Levy clutched at her chest trying to calm down, but for the life of her she didn't want to. The dance her heart was doing to the music... HIS music... she didn't want it to stop. Not ever.

" _...keep runnin' can't find a deeper love for me. Oh, she's my wild blue fairy... ain't none other for me._ "

' ** _Love_** '... was that what this was? She sighed and leant heavily on the stable door.

" 'Ts rude to eavesdrop, Shorty."

Levy's far away stare came back to reality, and she noticed he'd gone rigid and shrank entirely back into the corner. She felt anxious again; she'd witnessed something so beautiful and her presence had somehow soured the moment.

"I'm _sorry_ ," she said, recoiling from where she'd stood engaged against the stall door. Something private, not meant for her eyes and ears had been witnessed. Now she felt like running, unable to face the hurt of him feeling exposed. "Gajeel, I'm… I didn't _mean_ to…"

Levy wasn't sure what had come over her; the sensation of her throat clenching involuntarily made gasping for air difficult. What was happening? Why was she so frightened, watching him recoil from her?

Instinct gave her one option in answer, and one option only.

Levy turned to run, her eyes shutting in a futile attempt to hold back her tears. When she opened them, she found herself in the same spot despite how quickly her feet moved. Looking back, she found the hem of her shirt held firmly in Lily's mouth.

" ** _Lily_** ," she choked on her embarrassed sob, " ** _please let go!_** "

Unlike last time, the horse's mouth held firm, his gentle eyes almost saying, ' **No**.'

The night air had been so perfect, a light breeze blew in through the stables' windows and with it came the smell of wildflowers. It was all the permission Gajeel had needed to sing the song in his heart, adding bits and pieces as he went.

Yesterday had come like a fairytale. The prince rescues a damsel from danger, their meeting sparking their undeniable attraction. He aids her in her tasks, and runs into her purely by chance when the hour is late and none others are there to witness. Repartee begins, stoking the flames between them, but he is a gentleman. His intentions are honorable and he wishes her a good evening with a small token of physical affection.

He laughed to himself; more like she'd nearly _killed_ herself on a horse until he stopped it, then tries to use a damn trowel to loosen dirt until he took pity on her miserable backside and shoved a more convenient tool into her hand. Then, she interrupts his sleep. Yeah, that's more accurate.

All the same, Gajeel couldn't help but think about her. The feeling moved his fingers skillfully across his instrument and forced his broken melody out his mouth. Movement had captured his attention, and the silhouette that observed him nearly made him drop his instrument.

When she'd turned to flee, his stubborn ass of a horse had caught her. There were times he swore Lily was too intelligent for his own good; he had a way of meddling with his life, _which of course was entirely ridiculous._ When she turned to pull her shirt from the horse, the light caught her tears and Gajeel couldn't allow it.

The man was on his feet, anxiety pulling him to go to her. "Hey..." he managed, setting down his guitar when she began to tug at her shirt more aggressively, "... _wait_!! Don't do that now... I didn't mean-!"

Gajeel heard the fabric rip and she took off, her blue locks trailing behind her. The light flowed over her when she passed each window, but her flight wasn't fast enough. His rough hand closed over her wrist even before he'd known he had chased her.

"Let **_go_**!" Levy struggled, the panic of the moment consuming her and smashing all rational thought before it could process. There was a violent shift in her chest, and she was a caged bird; frightened, beating its wings relentlessly against the bars. Not knowing what else to do, Gajeel sank to his knees letting her hand slip through his. The unexpected action faltered her movement and she stared into his wide eyes, her legs edging her backward.

" _Levy_ ," his voice was full of remorse, guilt from another time choking his expression. The sound of her name on his tongue sent a chill through the woman despite the warm night air and she stilled. "You didn't do nothin' wrong." Gajeel's eyes looked nearly black in the low light, but their pleading was clearly visible. "Please," he croaked, though what he was asking for he wasn't quite sure.

Was he asking her to stay? To not be sad? Gajeel felt an internal tremble in his body to reach for her, not to hold her there but with some other purpose entirely. Something his body ached for but his mind seemed blind yet to.

"I ain't mad or nothin'. Don't ruin your evenin' on my account. Please..." he begged. Gajeel's hand reached for her face and diverted some of the wetness there. "... _please_ don't cry."

There was an open wound in his heart at how hesitant she seemed, though he couldn't blame her. A part of himself loathed the rough exterior he'd cultivated over the years; even now, though he couldn't see himself, he was sure his most valiant attempt to be gentle and calming was unnerving at best… but was that truly what hurt him so?

Shaking the thought away, he refocused on the observing eyes before him. "Please?" He pleaded, lowering his head and hand in preparation of defeat. Small things were always afraid of what crawled imposing and dangerous in the dark. The thought pinched his eyes shut; he would ' ** _always be nothing more than a monster_**.'

A small voice whispered his thought from far away in his mind. A flash of a bare stomach with a curling design around the navel shining in the moonlight made him dizzy.

"I'm sorry," the same small voice breathed before him, making Gajeel's head snap up from his haze. Levy hadn't run, instead she'd taken a quarter step toward him. Why wasn't she running from him?

What kind of _fairy_ was she?

"Ain't nothin to be sorry for." His hands reached out for her shoulders, but she flinched once they brushed her shoulders, causing them to withdraw. Hurt stained Gajeel's expression without his permission.

Levy caught his hands in hers, new tears freely flowing down her face. "I'm sorry," she repeated, her eyes averting with a new emotion he couldn't quite place. "I have a hard time with... _touch_..." There was a buffer between them, a wall she'd constructed to keep herself safe from the world.

Or had he put it between them?

Wait...no… not a wall..

...a... _tree_??

"O-okay..." he said, allowing his hands to be held without any resistance. "That's fine... I don't wanna hurt you, Shortstuff."

There was a crumbling nature to her half step forward; he could see her knees quaking beneath her, her sniffles becoming more and more desperate.

"Levy...? I... I want you ta feel safe... so if you need to go, you should-"

Her blue hair sank into his face and she collapsed onto his lap, her sobs inconsolable. Gajeel panicked, his hands up and away from her, unsure of what was okay to do. Where was her line exactly?

What line had he drawn with his vicious hands all those years ago?

 ** _...What??_**

"Levy," he tried again, his voice gentle against her hair, "I wanna hold you but I dunno-"

"Just," She sobbed, her face swollen red with tears, "just n-not t-tight."

Understanding flowed over him, and he adjusted, crossing his legs in front of him, his back resting against a stall door. She laid against him, her delicate hands clenching his black undershirt and her tears still free flowing. Gingerly he put an arm around her waist, trying to not take it personally when he felt her fists tighten.

"Is this okay?" He asked. There was a nearly imperceptible nod against his collarbone. Gajeel placed his other hand on her crown and brushed his fingers what he hoped was soothingly against her scalp, letting her locks be run through them.

"Is this okay??" He cooed a bit softer, to which she sighed and melted against him a bit more, nodding her approval with more confidence. Holding her tiny frame ever so gently, he leaned his face against her forehead, breathing her in.

"I'm so sorry," he said suddenly, causing her to look up. Strangely, his proximity didn't frighten her like she thought it would. Curious.

" _Sorry_? For _what_? I'm the one who-"

But her words were cut off by his serious stare. "Whatever happened's in the past now, Levy." He whispered, running another pass through her hair. "I don't wanna hurt you, and ya need to be strong and tell me when things are too much, okay? I need ya ta know that the way you been hurt before," he closed his eyes and shook his head before running a comforting caress on her waist, "it won't _ever_ happen again. Not while I'm here."

These words… _how many times had he said them_?

Levy's eyes were as big as saucers, the raw emotion, the scars, they began to float up around her until she was afraid she couldn't hold them back anymore. The change was visible, and he paused to brush her cheek with his knuckles.

"Hope that's not too bold ta say." Gajeel let his hand fall from her face, "I don't mess around with my words- what I mean is what I say, Levy. And I mean it, you'll never have to be afraid aga-"

Levy placed her fore and ring fingers against his lips to still him. Her nose reaching to brush against his.

"Thank you", she breathed, her warm, tart breath sinking into his senses. Levy brushed her lips against his. "Thank you..."

Levy's lips were soft and gentle against his; he was all but sure his own were rough and chapped. Nonetheless, she kissed him, her tears spilling onto his chest.

The moment that delicate, parted mouth met his own, Gajeel's heart and mind raced in recollection. He struggled to stay calm, his body beginning to tremble in her proximity.

"Ain't nothin' to thank me for. You deserve the world, and I'll give it to you if you let me." Gajeel's chest continued to swell, though he wasn't sure how much he should say.

Levy stilled, her fingers loosening on his shirt. "Have we... _met_ before??" There was something all too familiar about the tender way he held her, as if he'd been born to fit her so perfectly in every way.

Gajeel froze, his eyes softening after a time and brimming with tears. "Yeah, Shorty. We _have_."

The girl seemed confused, her brow furrowing in concentration. "...I'm sorry... I can't seem to remember." Her voice drifted off, becoming softer.

"That's okay. The past is the past, an' you still got today to live for, Bookworm." His tears mixed with hers and he kissed her cheeks more confidently, sniffling in the quiet night. "You're _everythin_ ' to me, woman. _Come home, would ya_??"

" _Home?_...what do you..."

"Come _home_ to me, Levy. _I miss you_. Everyone does... " He choked, rocking them both with the restrained sobs in his core.

" _Everyone_??" Shw parroted. What was he **talking** about?

"Of course _everyone_. Who _wouldn't_ miss ya??" He grinned, his lips quaking over his teeth before he pressed a warm open-mouthed kiss against her temple and absorbed the wonderful scent he couldn't find anywhere else.

There was something wiggling, nagging in the back of Levy's mind. Something she couldn't quite grasp. "...I feel really _tired_..." She said finally, the confusion still clear on her brow.

Gajeel tried not to let his disappointment show as he wiped his tears on his forearm but more replaced them. "Okay. Go get some sleep... I'll be here if ya need me. I promise."

Levy pushed herself to stand but found her body go numb, her limbs were heavy, and she found she couldn't stand. "Gajeel... _I can't_... **_I can't move_**!"

The sight of his horrified expression above her began to blur, his mouth moving but no noise escaping. Lights were blooming in a floral pattern of bright color, swirling around her. None of this made any sense!

" ** _Levy??? LEVY!! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME!!_** " A voice roared, far away. She could hear a quick succession of beeps, and more voices shouting over each other.

" **NOOO! LET ME GO BACK!** " A dragon bellowed mere feet from her, but the voice cracked with weakness, desperation where she once remembered there being a bold, robust timbre. " ** _GET YER HANDS OFF ME! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!! LEVY!!! LEVY DON'T LEAVE ME!_** "

" ** _SEDATE_ HIM NOW**!" An unfamiliar reedy tenor shouted above her.

" _DOCTOR SHE'S CRASHING_!" This voice was feminine. Familiar….

... ** _Wendy_**??

"PUSH EP-... _CLEAR_!..."

The words were fading. Flickering in and out, the way a loose connection confuses a light.

"ONE- ...CHAR-...!!... _CLEAR_!"

Darkness swallowed Levy. Cobweb-like blackness clung to her senses, and everything was obscured.


	6. Seriously? 100 Jewel?

**Thank you all for the kind reviews. i hope you will enjoy this break similar to the very first chapter.** **I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters.**

 **Chapter 5: Seriously? 100 Jewel?**

After what seemed an eternity, a foggy light lit the projector again, this time, there was a night sky twinkling into view.

"Hey Shrimp, come here!" A familiar voice called. The picture turned, and Gajeel stood a few feet away, his hair tamed back into a ponytail and his arms slung through a dark pinstriped suit.

"Couldn't wait, could ya?" The knowing smile he directs at the viewer is confident but subtle, with something warm pushing the expression into his eyes.

"You were taking too long!" An amused feminine voice, her voice, echoed in surround sound.

"You said you wanted to dress up," he complained half-heartedly, picking at the hem of his sleeve. "I was just tryin' to look good for ya."

A laugh boomed and the picture doubled over to a brief view of soft grass and a sloping path before straightening again. "You _do_ look rather handsome if you don't mind me saying so."

It's clear from his unchanged grin this wasn't an issue. "I'd be offended if ya didn't! Gihi!" His eyes were so enamored in the way he looked straight ahead into the projection, almost as if there were no other place to be looking in all of Earthland.

Suddenly his face craned upward, eyes lighting up with uncharacteristically childish excitement. "Oh, there they go, Shrimp! C'mon, I set out a spot for us already!" The projector followed him, taking a moment to focus purely on the man's butt snug in the ripped jeans he wore before giggling rang out impishly.

Looking over his shoulder, his shark like stare glanced back at the viewer. "What are you doin' back there, troublemaker?" He grinned when he stopped in front of a blanket with pillows and food set up in a wicker basket. The view was _incredible_ , the skyline kissing the furthest reaches of Magnolia, all lit up as if to mirror it's inverse

" ** _Wow_** ," the feminine voice boomed, " _You did this_??"

"I had some help from Bunny." He admitted, shrugging a sturdy shoulder. "Wanted ta make sure ya had a good time tonight."

"How thoughtful." the projection narrowed as if from the eyes of someone smiling broadly. "You're so _sweet_ , Gajeel."

"Yeah yeah... C'mon, before we miss the show."

The view shifted to a lower point of view and then up to the sky. There, a burst of shooting stars streaked boldly across the blackness.

" _Oh_ , Gajeel it's _beautiful_! Look how **many** there are!" A delicate pale arm, hand and pointer finger jutted into view, moving from one to the next as if trying to count them.

"Pretty amazin' stuff. Wonder if it'll always be like this..." A much darker hand that embodied all that strength and work was folded over the other, wrapping it securely.

"What do you mean?" The view turned sideways to find Gajeel reclined beside it, free arm tucked back behind his head.

"You'n me." He said still looking up, his cheeks tinting a shade darker. "Lookin' at the sky. Gettin' dressed up."

The picture darkened. A soft humored sigh trembling into a girlish chuckle washed through the black.

"Why _wouldn't_ it?"

The picture brightened again, and he was closer and staring almost determined from his side. An odd feeling of being embraced within the darkness... a memory?? Sure enough, his biceps reached out of the picture as if caging the view. His rugged face filled the screen, lights from the shining stars kalaedascoping across his angular features.

" _Marry me,_ Levy." He murmured, his face almost quivering with nerves, but his eyes refused to look anywhere but forward. They looked almost _glassy_.

A rush of heavy beating drowned out all other noise. The pause made his breath stutter, and he rushed to continue.

"Let me be yours **forever** ," he whispered, moving a strand of blue hair that had been obstructing the view. "Let me **_take care_** of you."

" _Yes_ ," a breathless voice echoed and his smile widened. A single tear fell down his cheek and he sniffed indelicately. His hand returned with the other trapped in its grip and he pressed a chaste, sweet kiss across the knuckle, beaming with pride into the projection.

The ivory hand left his in favor of chasing away the residual clinging wetness on his cheekbone. Slightly uncomfortable looking from his apparent show of weakness, he laughed toothily and hastily retrieved his boyish attitude. " **Gihi**. Salamander owes me _a hundred jewel_."

The view's wide, circular projection flattened, accompanied by a strangled noise of frustration. " ** _Seriously_**!? **_Stupid Gajeel_**!!"

"Can't back out now, Shrimp." His body raised to tower over the viewer, the star backdrop making him appear more like his natural, shadowy self Removing his jacket to reveal a black undershirt, his jagged jaws glinted mischievously. "Now I'm gunna show you what it means to be a dragon's mate. I hope you _stretched_ before our date..."

The pounding returned when the view was simply a nest of ebony hair. His locks must have sprang free of their hold. An animalistic, guttural sough vibrated from below. " **Gajeel!!** **Haha! _Stop_! Someone will _see_!**"

With an unconvinced salacious stare, the dragon crept into view again; his face, neck and chest flushed pink. "Then they're gunna get an eye full of my **bare ass**. I _need_ you, Shorty... I can't wait any longer... _please_... let me make love to ya." He was now so close to the projector that he appeared out of focus. A hand pressed him backwards into clarity.

"We aren't _married_ yet..." a small voice nagged without commitment.

He shook his head, his face coming too close again. "You're already my wife in my book, Levy."

"Ohhh... _Gajeel_...I love you _so_ much."

His movement stopped, and a kiss could be heard when he leaned in so close the picture dimmed and then eventually slid into blackness.

" _I love you, my Levy girl_."

His words echoed, and the cotton stiffness took over again.

 _I miss you_. She thought, before coherence evaporated entirely.


	7. It Can't End Like This

Reviews are motovating. Thank you all for your kind words and support. I would welcome any criticism, but I'd like to note that we will be altering the cannon timeline. So just go with it, ya'll.

I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters.

 **Chapter 6: It Can't End Like This**

"The tests are inconclusive, Mr. Redfox." The mage stated quietly as he looked over Levy's recent charts from behind a large desk. His gray eyes were noticeably weary, his graying brow furrowed with the search for something specific in the data. "We still don't know if she'll wake up fully aware or not at this point. You need to _prepare_ yourself and Mrs. Redfox's affairs accordingly. Do you have support to help you with arrangements?"

Lucy wrapped her hand protectively over Gajeel's without a thought, her grim expression steeled for her friend's sake. Almost to shield him, there was an edge of dismissal to her tone, "He has all the support anyone will ever need, but I think what you're insinuating is _premature_ , _don't you think?"_

Unbothered by the heat of the Celestial Mage's words, the mage continued examining the paper closely. The iron dragon didn't look up, his eyes still trained to the clinically white floor. He hated hospitals, and everything about them, down to the septic smell of sickness his magic picked out beneath bleach and antimicrobial cleaners.

"Doc," he croaked, his tired eyes shutting. "There any way we can try the experimental trial again? I just... she's _right there_ and..." Gajeel's voice was breaking, the frustrated tears dropping onto his shirt one after another. He would have cared about others seeing him like this before, but there seemed to be pieces of himself missing in Levy's absence. "I haven't _held my wife_ properly in a month and I can't take much more'a this... even if it's only through that fancy lacrima, at least I can be near her... _make her comfortable_..."

Lucy's heart broke all over again, and she squeezed his arm encouragingly. Seeing the great Black Steel Gajeel with a personality as large as any room he was in reduced to a shell of his former self was so very sad. His cheeks were more hollow, a gaunt and sallow tinge to his face. He'd lost weight, his muscles pronounced in a sickly rather than toned way, and his proud mane was brittle looking. Frayed like his nerves, lacking the healthy shine of vitality.

She blinked away unbidden tears, trying to stay strong for him when he needed her most.

"Levy's injuries were _severe_." The doctor attempted to reason, repeating the assessment he'd had weeks ago. "Our healing magic has done all it can for her, and we won't risk endangering your life further with a second mind-breach. You could enter a coma yourself or worse, should she _pass_ while you're connected, you could also-"

" ** _I DON'T CARE!_** " Gajeel roared, standing to level a glare at the doctor, his body trembling with rage, grief and a wobbly strain. " ** _WITHOUT SHORTY MY LIFE IS ENDING ANYWAY- I'D RATHER GO WITH HER THAN BE STUCK HERE ALONE._** "

Lucy blanched visibly at the sharpness of his tone. " _You're not alone_ , Gajeel, you know all of Fairy Tail is here-"

" ** _BUNNY_** ," his anger shut her mouth before she could continue, " ** _I LOVE YOU, BUT WITHOUT LEVY I'M NOTHING! WITHOUT MY WIFE I'M...I'm._** _.. empty._ "

The mournful draconic cry of a sorrow that spilled from his mouth echoed down the hospital halls. There was nothing more heartbreaking the guild could hear outside in the waiting area. They'd all huddled, quiet and still for once. With the news of Levy's condition having reached Magnolia only a few weeks prior, they'd immediately come to support Gajeel. It's simply what nakama did.

Wendy's sobs intensified into Cana's protective shoulder, her own normally placid and indifferent expression wavering as she clutched her guildmate. The sky maiden had grown so much, now a young adult and full-fledged healer, yet she looked so small at hearing her brother's cry.

Full of repressed energy, Natsu paced a hole in the floor with an aggressive anxious hissing noise shuttering from his chest. He knew Gajeel would never hurt Lucy, but his yelling at her had the hackles standing. No one had the heart to stop his agitated pacing, keeping a distance between them as he scraped at a healing mark on his collarbone.

Fairy Tail sat, and stood, and wept and embraced. Their voices were quiet, and unnatural.

" _Okay_ , Mr. Redfox," the doctor caved reluctantly. "You have no blood relatives, no children... if you sign proper documentation, we may be able to try again _should she restabilize_. _Only then_ , however. A premature attempt could _kill_ both of you."

"Thank you for giving him the option, doctor." Lucy tried to mend things with the frazzled healer. She soothed Gajeel's arm again and managed a weak smile he didn't notice for digging at his watery eyes.

"She's so _confused_ ," Gajeel sobbed into his hands, "It's like she's dreamin' and facts are all twisted up. S'like her brain is goin' over the big events in her life… but _none of it's right_."

"That's to be expected, despite how few trials have been done," the man nodded, cleaning his glasses and replacing them on the bridge of his nose. "The mind deals in abstracts when it's not receiving waking data- so the farm you mentioned could be a place she felt sanctuary once in her life, or simply represent your guild. She's grieving for her mother like she's only just passed. Dealing with trusting you after..." The doctor faltered at the visible bristle in the dragon's shoulders, "... ** _after_**. She doesn't even recognize you as the one who… **_well_**... because you're a _different_ man now. You're the man she _fell in love with_ , not the boy from Phantom Lord."

When the dragon said nothing at this, he continued, his voice softening thoughtfully, "I dare say it seems you're even influencing each other's thoughts- the journal and poetry you mentioned- _have you ever written so eloquently in your life?_ Not to stereotype, but you don't seem the _type_ , Mr. Redfox."

Gajeel clicked his tongue bitterly, resenting the implication but all but accepting it as fact. "Tch... I can barely _spell_ in Fiorian. My words ain't as fancy as Levy's."

The response sobered the physician's response, his face turning grim. "This is why the treatment is dangerous- your minds _become inseparable_ at times and it's hard to know when and how it will occur, _especially_ between spouses who trust each other and have such a bond already. You had no knowledge of your own past until the glitch happened- _she was creating your **WORLD** for you_."

Gajeel sighed at that. He hadn't felt so fulfilled and close to his wife since before she'd lost consciousness in his arms. Some strange magic he'd never seen, raking viscous, black vine-like veins under her skin. He'd lost it, and for the first time in his life he had been truly afraid. Levy's legs had crumpled in a heap and she'd fallen so small and helpless to the ground.

Even more troubling had been the lack of solid connection with their touch. There was none of the magic exchange that normally flowed between them, and it probably saved the evil mage's life. Had the energy still washed through them, he would be in jail for having destroyed the man who'd grinned inhumanly wide. He was in custody currently awaiting trial and conviction for his hand in dark guild activities as well as attempted murder.

"You'll both feel the pull to be together, and to think together. You'll need to be careful when something seems out of character is happening to you or from you." The mage's voice shook Gajeel from his memories and his already pinched face settled on the man before him, his fingers curling around the arm rests beside him.

"I gotta try, doc. She's my _world_ an' I can't live without her." Gajeel's jaw was set. His eyes trying to hold onto his last shred of determination.

"Sir," Lucy interjected, her grip tightly wound around Gajeel's arm, "He's _not_ exaggerating. Dragon Slayer magic is rare, so you may be unaware of how connected it's users are to their mates." She rubbed his arm, but Gajeel just looked away, avoiding her eyes.

"They _constantly_ feel the need to touch or be affectionate with each other. This is as much a part of their bond as it is a part of maintaining its connection." She leaned her head against his shoulder. "The implications of being unable to be physically attached to your mate-"

" _I'm dyin'_." He croaked heavily.

Lucy's eyes filled with more tears she tried to fight away. "There's a sort of magnetism, _especially_ with Gajeel's magic that demands specifically Levy's touch. Not just her touch, but _her consciousness_ to activate her end of his dragon slayer magic deposits, so to speak." Lucy squeezed his arm more tightly against her, sniffling. "I can't continue to stand in for much longer... I'm not compatible and I have my own slayer to care for."

Gajeel finally looked up into his friend's eyes. "You've been keepin' me comfortable, Bunny. Don't sell yourself short."

The doctor stood and adjusted his spectacles. "You'll have to forgive us for being overly cautious... we aren't in the business of sending people to their nearly certain death. We can try again once she stabilizes, _as I said_ , Mr. Redfox. Until then, I suggest you rest. You won't be doing your wife any favors by exhausting yourself further into ill health."

A low growl sounded from Gajeel's chest but he made no objection. He knew the doctor was right, but all the same his heart choked on the reality of things. He didn't know if Levy would ever wake, and the doctors couldn't seem to find a reason for her to have remained comatose. Though she was still in there, of that he was certain. Their time together in the stables of her mind left no doubt.

The dragon stood, his weakened body protesting as he left the room after the doctor. He wanted to be near his wife again, just in case anything changed. "Bunny," he mumbled to the blond at his side still clutching his arm. "Ya need ta get back to your idiot partner. Spend some time with'em."

Soothing his arm in guilt, Lucy looked up at the shell of a once proud man. "But-"

"No 'but's. He needs ya too. You've been itching yer mark raw." He interrupted, trying to pick up the pace to his wife's room. "You'll get sick."

Absently placing a hand on her neck over the inflamed bite mark she winced. Gajeel didn't have much to comfort him outside of the small contact she was able to give him, their sibling-like connection sustaining him despite the ill effects of being without his mate's connection. It was like turning the water spigot on a slow drip in the desert under the sweltering sun: not enough to make a difference, but it could give him comfort.

When her hand came away from the base of her shoulder with blood, she frowned. Their mating had been recent and the process required nearly constant attention from Natsu in order to ensure a strong bond. The itching had been pretty bad for Levy too after that night under the meteor shower whenever she spent too much time away from him.

" _Go_." He insisted, pushing her along and giving her a smirk when she gave him a peck on the cheek. "He'll be moody as hell and you'll have to find a _bed_ some place. Ya stink of another dragon, after all."

Lucy smiled back with a knowing blush, her hand finally leaving his arm. "I'll come back to check on you after he falls asleep." She promised, waving at him before hurrying off to find her mate. He could already smell how pissed off and territorial he was from the waiting room, but it wasn't personal and he knew that. It would still be awhile before flame brain could stand to have her near other males. Hell, he'd be dead right now if he wasn't so obviously attached to his own woman.

Once she rounded the corner out of sight, Gajeel slumped against the wall in fatigue, clutching his chest as he attempted to regain his breath. Weakness was not a feeling he had been accustomed to but he felt so off balance he couldn't find it in him to be irritated. It was humbling.

Bracing himself, he pushed off back onto his feet, taking slow steps as he neared the entryway to her room. He would have made it had it not been for a sluggish step not fully straightening and he fell to the floor, attempting to dig his claws into the doorway to catch himself but where sharp metal points should have dug easily into the wood, his ineffective blunt human fingers slid doing little to soften his fall.

"Here." A blunt voice offered a hand from behind him and he took the help, his brow screwing up in concentration trying to pull himself to his feet. Strong arms, seeing his struggle, lifted him easily and shrugged a blond head under his shoulder to support the Iron dragon's gait.

"Chair." Laxus grunted, helping Gajeel limp weakly into the seat beside his wife. The two men never met eyes, both too proud to visually accept the position the other was in. It was humbling to have the lightning slayer right him, and felt wrong for Laxus when he had to help such a powerful force of nature.

"Thanks." He muttered almost inaudibly.

Beginning to walk out of the room, Laxus grunted in response before the doctor who'd treated Levy rushed in and nearly face-planted into him. Breathing heavily, the mage eyed the blond warily before rounding on Gajeel. "Mr. Redfox," he began, coming forward to take the slayer's pulse. "I'm admitting you. _What happened, you were walking fine before…?_ "

"Bunny." Gajeel muttered sheepishly. "Her connection was allowin' me to have a bit more energy." The slayer shut his eyes; he knew what was coming.

"Bedrest will be vital if we're going to see this through. I'd like to run some tests to make sure there isn't anything we can supplement you with. I'll call a chair so we can get you to the lab-"

Laxus cut him off placing a hand on the doctor's shoulder. "He stays here. The further he is from her the more stress his body is put under."

Shifting under the weight of the heavy digits, the physician stuttered contrarily, "I-I understand your concern, sir, but-"

The hand on his shoulder tightened ever so slightly. " **I did not bring this up for debate. You'll _kill_ him.**"

The man trembled slightly, his face contorting with a hint of fear. " _I-I'll have a nurse by for blood work and a bed._ "

Letting go, the lightning dragon eyed the man carefully as he left the room.

"Probably wouldn'ta _killed_ me." Gajeel mumbled.

Laxus finally leveled a stare into his brother's face. " _Would you have prefered I kept quiet?_ "

Gajeel clicked his tongue. Feeling indebted to Laxus was possibly more uncomfortable than having fallen prone before. "...Thanks… _Master_." The dragon finally sighed. He avoided the surprised look on his Guild leaders face.

"Laxus is fine." The lightning slayer grunted slightly embarrassed. He still wasn't used to that. Once again the blond grunted and turned to leave, having made it mostly out the door before calling back over his shoulder, "I'll let the others know you want some time with your wife."

The nurse came by with a spare bed, getting him up and into it before taking a bit of blood to analyze along with his vitals. Judging by the way in which her eyebrows rose a fraction at his heart rate, he guessed things were progressing a little quicker than he'd hoped. Still, his door remained shut, giving him privacy as he watched his wife's chest rise and fall.

She was so lovely, even now. His hands itched to hold her, an anxious pit forming in his belly. Gajeel thought of the day he'd first asked her to go with him, his tongue tumbling over his words. She'd just laughed at his nerves and when he'd grouched about it her eyes had softened and she'd agreed, her pulse quickening at his confession.

Sleep pulled over him; Gajeel's eyes slowly shut, his mind finally stumbling into a restless sleep.


	8. Black Magic

**Chapter 7: Black Magic**

Eyes narrowing, Gajeel set his feet and stilled. The previous minions had been nothing more than cannon fodder attempting to wear him out. Unfortunately for the poor bastard in front of him, grinning like a damn fool, he'd simply given him a warm up.

"You're pretty strong, _black fairy,_ " the mage cooed, his voice scratchy, sharp as the malice in his two toned eyes. "What's your secret? I'm always looking to switch up my workout routine."

Gajeel's nose twitched. Something was really off about this guy now that he had a moment to examine him- not only was he an unknown on this mission (supposedly a simple gather data on runes in one of Bosco famously deep forests with minor bandit inhabitants being a possible issue- nothing Levy, Gajeel and Lily couldn't handle even on a bad day), but he hadn't shown his hand at all. There was a powerful magic field around him that had the slayer worried, but he knew the others were on their way. Lilly would bring in team Natsu from a different mission in town, so he'd just need to keep the dark mage distracted until they could come in and overwhelm him.

Shrimp wasn't feeling well. She'd gotten sick in the morning, so when the dark guild had descended on them, he'd strategically edged the attackers away from camp so shed have the opportunity to hide. Internally he tried not to worry about her in the face of the unknown.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue??" The mage was shorter than he was by a few inches, his body frail, but everything about him screamed not to be underestimated.

"Just wonderin' if yer hair grew in that way or if ya pissed off a barber." Gajeel grinned through his fear, antagonizing the man and pointing to the shaved section down the center of his head between two slicked back tufts of cerulean hair. The mage's smile widened, which he hadn't known was possible, to stretch literally from one ear to the other, his eyes rolling back disconcertingly.

"Oh, I've been this way longer than you've been alive, welp." The acidic voice laughed humorlessly, eyes swiveling back to level a narrowed, piercing stare. "I do hope you've prepared yourself, I'd hate for you to pull a muscle or _overexert_ yourself."

There was a distinctly creepy, sexual nature to his tone that made Gajeel feel like he'd be consumed if he weren't careful. "I'll manage." He huffed, remaining in his readied stance and watching the man carefully despite the unnerving flare of mismatched gray and gold eyes.

"I certainly hope that's true," the mage cooed, his pointed shoes beneath long, ritual black robes left the ground with the sprouting of long, dust colored wings. "For her sake."

If the bastard was looking for a weakness in Gajeel's stance, he couldn't find it; but something seriously deadly bled through the flinching set of his jaw. Perhaps it was the vein that suddenly grew pronounced and angry on his temple.

"Ohhhh… I see. Sensitive subject, _black fairy_?" The evil mage shot forward, tongue lolling out of his dull pink lips. " ** _FORGIVE MY INTRUSION_**."

There was so little time to react, Gajeel hastily swung his forearms in a defensive "x" before his face. They morphed into two large steel rods right when the first impact hit. He had enough time to widen his stance, but was knocked back by an unseen force that came a fraction after the sensation of a petite fist tapping his dragon armor.

Activating his claws, his studded arms returned but remained grey in the sharp digits that sunk into the earth to steady him. His laughing opponent had his head thrown back as he stood akimbo twenty feet away. Had the bastard REALLY just pushed him that far with only a nudge?

"A _changeling_? They sent a _changeling to discover the secrets of my forest_ _Oh, what folly you've fallen into, black fairy. I almost feel **SORRY** for you._"

He was **TOYING** with him. He could see it in the unhurried and stoic way his body stretched now with disinterest.

"You are _unworthy_ of setting foot on this land. _Begone, welp!_ " The mage turned in mid air and began drifting into the forest again. " _You_ may live for the durability of your fighting spirit, but I shan't let your friend leave unscathed. _White fairy_ knows too much."

That had Gajeel on his feet, tearing through the trees after the mage, now slipping easily away with a malicious cackle fading away. Mind racing, he whimpered internally at his carelessness. Of _COURSE_ he'd be after her. _Fuck! Shorty!! Get out of there!!'_ His vision tunneled, anxiety heightening his awareness and pushing himself to move _impossibly faster- **FASTER**!!_

A scream echoed ahead and the sound had his heart thudding, his vision blurring until everything before him grew sharp and white. He roared in response to the cry, non-uniform scales darker than night burst through his flesh painfully and he sped up with ease. White. _White_. _Everything white_ to spite the emerald forest he overtook. Then Gajeel saw **_red_**.

 **"DIE."** Gajeel rasped, his voice sinking in and destroying a small portion of the dark mage's confidence. The red man among the snow in his vision took a step back at the sight of an Iron Shadow Dragon seething before him, his hands releasing the sun-colored figure that doubled over with a pained gasp that doubled the shadowy aura surrounding _Iron Steel_.

" _Dragonkin?? **IMPOSSIBLE**! You couldn-_"

Whatever he'd meant to say died in his throat with Gajeel's Iron Dragon Sword Horn striking a deadly blow to his gut. The evil mage, caught by surprise, let his usual grin fall into an equally disturbing grimace; the wings disappearing from his back with the impact of the tree against his frail looking body now appearing so terribly harmless.

Another draconic bellow rang in his ears, his body moving on pure instinct, planting fist after fist into the mage's body. Gajeel caught the man's throat and slid him up the rough bark of the knotty pine, fingers bruising the pulse under them.

 **"YOU _DARE_ TO TOUCH HER!? I...WILL _DESTROY_ YOU! THERE WON'T BE A _MAN OR GOD_ WHO WILL SAVE YOU FROM ME!"**

Off hand fisting once more and becoming a metallic pick, he went to strike his death blow when his vision suddenly returned to normal, color seeping back into the world around him. A terrible, sinking feeling in his gut had his mind stuttering the moment Levy's hands fell lank at her sides.

His eyes widened in _fear_ … and _loss_ … and he felt a piece of himself shatter inside.

 _No… **please** no…_

Turning, he saw his wife for the first time since he'd intentionally lured the dark wizard away from their camp. Her perfect skin was obscured by a painful looking black, creeping vine that left the skin sore and red around it. Like an infection.

 ** _"Levy!??"_**

The script mage took a brittle step toward him, her eyes unfocused, streaming tears. "... _Gajeel_ …?"

" _I'm_ -"

 **WOMP**

The dragon's scales receded, his eyes blank from the force of the blow to his skull. The adrenaline in his system kick-started his mind again and he blinked stars from his vision from his prone position in the dirt. The sound of Levy falling to her knees had him scrambling to her without full control of his limbs.

They felt numb, like they were full of sand; prickling, scratching back to life. Despite the handicap, he made it over to her trembling body just before she went limp and sank completely to the earth behind her.

A hollow pit engulfed Gajeel's chest and his breath hitched, his lungs sucking in air reluctantly until he touched her. The lifeline of her warm and responding connection to him allowed his breathing to stabilize. _"Shorty?"_ He whispered, his hands discovering the vines were, in fact, shooting _under_ her skin in wicked curls and bends.

The dragon gently shook her, his nose traveling across her skin, checking her for signs of physical injury he could treat himself while help arrived. Levy laid limp in his arms, her breath steady but otherwise unconscious. For a brief moment Gajeel thought they'd lucked out; Though the mage was gone, he was hurt pretty badly and Natsu would be able to smell the blood to track him.

That was before the warmth left her connection. And there was nothing. He may as well have been touching a perfect stranger. The black hole slowly returned to his gut, and he sputtered, his eyes never leaving the remaining slow rise and fall of her chest. She was still there… she was still alive…

 _...but not._

 _"Levy… wake up!"_ he sniffed, his body curling around her, desperately seeking the closeness, the connection. _"Ya gotta stay close ta me, Shorty… don't you **dare** leave my side! You fucking **PROMISED**!"_

"Gajeel! Where's-!!" The out of breath flying exceed shot to his side but flitted away when an iron claw swiped at him. _"Woah!! Gajeel it's me! It's Lily!!"_

The words fell on deaf ears, only an aggressive predatory snarl ripping from Gajeel's lips in reply. Dispersed scales more akin to dark stones of varying thickness spread over his arms.

There were _more_ people. More people _coming to hurt her_. Gajeel could hear them whispering behind him through the whirring of blood rushing in his ears. A few ran off into the forest, the leader with an abrupt, pink head of hair.

Two enemies. Both enormously lethal judging by the scent of their magic knelt a few feet away, watching him. It was unnerving, and his eyes shifted from one to the other, clutching his mate more tightly in his arms. He sucked at the air with his senses, and knew there was one more, impossibly small enemy lurking in the air above him. The one that had come near him moments before.

Gajeel bared his teeth protectively and postured, his barrel chest flaring out and back arching. They didn't want to **_fuck_** with him right now. They didn't want to come near him, come near his dying wife. He was _bigger_ and _more dangerous_ than anything in these woods and he would _die_ keeping her safe.

The smaller enemy on the ground said something to the other and they both laid flat on their bellies, eyes wide but averting to the side.

 _Submission. **Good**. Don't come near me. I **WILL** kill you all.' _he thought.

The same smaller person, dark blue pigtails dragging in the earth took one hand and slid herself slowly forward, stomach grazing the loose dirt of the forest floor. Gajeel's growl rose in pitch. A warning to this bold little thing now inching forward.

 _"Gajeel-oni… it's me. It's Wendy."_

Once again Gajeel tested the air, anxiously growling. Their scent was familiar. Soft, gentle even. Juniper berries and sun tea. His unblinking eyes shifted to check on the other ground laden enemy and found her right where he'd last seen her, still avoiding his eyes beneath blond hair. Her cheeks were wet and he heard the sobs rattling through her pitching body.

What were they _playing_ at? They wouldn't trick him into abandoning his mate. He wouldn't let her be hurt.

 _"Brother. It's Wendy and Lu...Bunny. Remember Bunny? She's Levy's best friend?"_

Little blue was getting too close. But something was nagging him about her. She seemed so… _familiar_.

" _That's right…_ I won't hurt her, _I swear._ I need to get closer to heal her. _Please_ , don't be afraid, big brother."

A calm washed over him, and his dilated pupils contracted. The first easy breath he'd had in what seemed like hours rushed through his body. He looked down at the glowing hand that gently grasped his ankle.

"... _Wendy_ …" he choked, his heart hammering despite the spell she continued to lay over them. His enormous shoulders deflated, shaking sorrow from his chest and limbs. The sound of heartbreak rattled through the first defenseless draconic cry he'd uttered since his father had disappeared.

 _"W-WENDY I CAN'T **F-FEEL** H-HER!"_ He mourned, mouth quivering in an effort to hold the devastation he felt inside. _"SH-SHE'S **BREATHING** BUT I **C-CAN'T** …"_

"Gajeel-oni, Please let me close to her. Maybe I can help." There was a renewing strength to Wendy's voice, and she glanced nervously up at him.

It took a few minutes for Wendy to be able to approach Levy properly, given the flinching Gajeel was prone to with any extra movement on her part. It was only when Lucy finally cried out loud, her frantic sobs drowning his, that he let his trust stabilize. He called to her, and she crawled forward, collaping in his arms, weeping for her best friend's state.

A part of them bonded that day, their love for Levy faceting their lives in place together. It was just as it had been with Wendy years prior during their fight with the chaos that was Acnologia. Gajeel's nest was growing, and despite his worry, he felt his heart swell.

Lucy smelled of honeycomb, and salt from her tears. He swore no one would hurt her, or parish in doing so. Gajeel would care for her until she found a mate. She would only be second to Levy in his priorities- same as his younger sister who had just lifted her hands, the ambient jade glow receding.

The curling black had shrunk, compacting into the petite low belly of his mate. It twisted and almost snapped angrily beneath the pale skin, wearing searing red blisters beneath the skin. Wendy's frown remained, her brow sweating.

"I've stopped the spread. I need a moment before I can purify the remaining blight." The sky dragon took Levy's hand and sniffed, her brow furrowed. "She still _smells_ so… different…"

Gajeel confusedly shook his head from where he sat cradling Lucy. "Shorty _always_ smells like that."

Wendy's lips pursed, clearly unconvinced, her eyes wandering across the rest of her patient. "Regardless, she seems stable. You can't feel her at all?"

New years wrapped around his eyes and fell without his permission. "Nothing. There's _nothing_. It's like _she's_ …"

"But she's **not**. So let's not worry yet, okay brother?" A smile managed to creep across her face enough to alleviate his immediate fears. The sinking sensation inside continued, but he allowed himself to take comfort in the steady breath in his wife's chest.

"... _Okay_." he conceded, his free hand resting on Levy's chest, and Wendy's hand gently covering his. Lily approached cautiously before climbing into the familial pile of worried guildmates. Gajeel's nest was growing, _yes_ , despite the loss consuming his heart.


	9. Bad Influence

**_Hey all, here's a small bridge before we get really crazy. Shouldn't be more than a week and a half from now (holidays throw everything off). Enjoy._** ** _._** ** _._** ** _I do not own Fairy Tail._**

 **Chapter 8: Bad Influence**

"Gajeel?"

Attempting to open his eyes, he clamped them shut again when the fluorescent lights assaulted him. His body felt particularly weak today… even his eyelids hurt. "Hmmf," he groaned, shielding his tender vision with a forearm draped across his face. "Whatsup, sis?"

Wendy tiptoed into the intensive care unit, her hands holding a large glass bottle. The liquid swirled, a twisting grey in the translucent vessel. "Porlyuska sent more potion. She says you should drink all of it immediately. Due to the situation being so dire, she didn't have time to reduce it down, but she's started the process on a few more viles now... luckily for you the deluded state isn't quite so...so..."

One of Gajeel's garnets appeared with a lift of his arm. " _Shitty_ tasting?" He croaked.

Wendy blushed at his cursing. "Yeah. Sit up, I'll help you with it."

The iron dragon glared at the no-longer hatchling. "I don't need _help_ ta' drink, Wendy."

The healer steeled her resolve and sat down beside him on the sterile white bed sheets. "You barely have the energy to stand, so let's keep your reserves up... for her."

Boy, she knew exactly where to hit. _'Ya know, she used to at least give me a smile when she forced me into a healin'... I must look pretty rough,'_ he thought. The young dragon was growing stubborn spending time with the other doctors and caregivers in the hospital. Gajeel couldn't help but smile at how much she had grown in her years in Fairy Tail.

" _Fine_." Gajeel growled at her, feigning irritation. _'Sure, NOW she smiles.'_

Wendy spooned the bitter concoction into his mouth trying not to laugh at the instant grimace that scrunched his face. Porlyuska had been using old world magic properties to help aid Gajeel's body. Without the constant attention of his mate, he'd need all the help he could get to keep his body and mind working as well as they could.

Levy's coma had affected him past the point she had expected. The powerful drake was listless, _depressed_ ; his days were spent talking to medical professionals or dutifully observing his wife's breathing. Wendy was doing what she could in administering treatment physically and psychologically. When the last of the potion had been drunk, she put the bottle aside and climbed into bed with her brother.

The contact was comforting, his little sister sitting against his side. The sky dragon threw her arms around his neck and nuzzled against his face. It was so difficult to see such a proud creature like Gajeel suffer so. Even now, he growled a whimper into her blue pigtail. He never held anyone back, she noticed. No matter which of is nakama offered a friendly embrace or show of support, his hands always remained at his sides.

Wendy found his eyes had wandered as the often did back to the frail script mage remained still on her bed. She could have been sleeping if it weren't for the wires and tubes feeding in and out of her.

"Ready to try again?" She asked gently.

Gajeel nodded, his eyes already wet.

Wendy had been attempting a therapy all her own. She tried to use her magic to establish connection, which she wasn't confident she could even do. It was worth keeping his spirit and hope alive, and she'd do anything, anything at all to give him that small comfort. Today, she had a plan.

"Okay." She huffed, just the slightest bit upset with herself, "I have something new I'd like to try tonight. It might help you sleep restfully if nothing else," she explained, hopping down to push Levy's bed into his. It was a good thing the beds had wheels or her job would have been difficult, even with the iron dragon several pounds lighter than before. As soon as she was close enough, Gajeel's arms shot around his wife desperately, careful now not to remove any of the wires or tubes connected to her.

Levy's scent enveloped him at its close proximity, but though the hammering of his heart calmed, the connection that normally engaged with her embrace never came. Longing sat in his gut again, his breath softly sniffling to keep sad tears at bay.

Tying the rails together at the foot of the bed, Wendy bounded back up onto the mattress, parting Gajeel from his wife to sit between them. At being seperated, he let out a warning growl, a hint of lack-luster grey scales forming on his face before disappearing. Wendy observed this and felt a sob get stuck in her throat, reminding her of the story her mother told.

 _"Two drakes promised their lives, so much in love they went all places together. Their hearts beating as one, and in this way their days were more beautiful, more colorful in each other's claws. But, alas, all good things come to an end._

 _During the war with humanity all those years ago, the male was struck down. His life waned in the heavy arms of his mate. When, finally, his life force was snuffed out, the grief consumed her and drove her mind from reality. It was as though a hole had bored through the matriarch's armor and gutted her of all she was._

 _Possessive of the life she'd lost, the once proud drake's life withered. When support came from their brood or from nest mates she lashed out, refusing to leave her mate's corpse even to eat. When her father came, having had enough of watching his successor starve to death, she ended her life at his hands when hysterical insanity took hold. He'd tried to give her mate a proper burial but ended up burying them both."_

 _Grandini had solemnly taken her gently into her great, snow feathered arms._

 _"So, young one, take care of your mate. Love them fiercely, and never let them go. If your connection is strong enough, you won't survive their passing. A kindness, I can assure you."_

She had to so something, anything. Wendy feared that should her brother become any more weak, his mind would begin to deteriorate. Would he become violent toward his family?

"Gajeel," She cooed gently. "I'm going to attempt to connect you now. It will be like last time, but I'm going to attempt to amplify it using this."

She dug through her leather bag at her side and pulled out a sizeable turquoise lacrima. It was about the size of her head, and had a faint glow to it that radiated light between her palms. A magical focus of this size was expensive, and probably dangerous.

Gajeel stared at her, mouth agape. _"And **who** exactly gave ya **that**?"_ His tone lightly reprimanding her, but amusement planting a smirk on his face.

"Oh... I _found_ it…?" Her eyes slanted away from him to look at the door she was now praying didn't open for a while. She could only imagine the trouble she'd be in.

"Look, Wendy, if... **when** Levy an' I are feelin' better, we're gonna have a _serious_ talk about how much time ya spend with yer brothers." Gajeel chastised her, furrowing his brow.

"But, _you're_ my brother." She said with a guilty smile, cocking her head childishly to the side.

"All the more reason the conversation needs doin'." He nodded his head thoughtfully. Not one of Fairy Tail dragon's were fit to be learning anything from besides how to get into trouble. Despite her being an adult now, she was still quite young in her thinking and actions… but there were more pressing matters to attend to now. "Now, what do I need ta do?"

"Hmm… lay back and hold her hand. I'll focus my energy there."

Watching as she settled herself with the lacrima between her crossed legs, Gajeel reclined and reached out to place a hand on her crown. "Hey... don't do nothin' _stupid_ , okay? You sense any danger to you, you _get the fuck out_ , okay? I mean it..."

The sky dragon simply smiled and waved his concern away. "I'll be careful, don't worry. Now close your eyes and concentrate on your hand. Send all your energy there but try to relax. Think of reaching out to her."

Gajeel had no idea what the Wendy was talking about. Even so, holding Levy's hand in his and closing his eyes, he thought of the woman next to him, how it felt to be near her when she was awake. How sharp the connection felt when she touched him anywhere, like being jabbed with sharp steel points. Instead of pain, there was only pleasure, as if it had replaced the sensation entirely.

There was a tickling sensation on top of his hand where he supposed Wendy had placed hers to start the therapy. He screwed up his face in concentration, desperately trying to reach out to touch her in his mind. Gajeel thought of her hand and how soft it felt compared to his own. He thought of the freckle on her ring finger that peaked out above the simple wedding band he'd given her that night of the meteor shower.

A sharp intake of breath stilled his mind.

" _Keep going Gajeel_!" Wendy grunted urgently.

Soft lips. Her wild blue hair. The natural scent at the base of her neck. Curling himself around her, making him feel so powerful cradling her slight frame with so much love... and what a love it is!

The way his heart pounds when he sees her even after the years they've spent together. The way she accepted his faults, his past, everything because she knew he was better now for having made his mistakes.

Levy's hand twitched in his grasp. A feeling of pure pleasure shot to his spine from the source, and he inhaled sharply, feeling his body light up with a renewed sense of vitality he hadn't known had been missing. It was as if his body had forgotten it's own capabilities; He'd been aware of his physical decline, but the connection with her was like a pure shot of dopamine to the face and he groaned at the feeling of flying high.

This is what she did to him; he'd been without her for too long. The normally soothing tether to her was euphoric, making his breath pant trying to keep up with the thumping of his heart. She was the only drug he'd ever need, and he'd been starved of the sweet painful burn of her in his veins.

"Keep... _reaching_... out," Wendy choked, her concentration gritting her voice.

The way she laughed with him. Dancing at their wedding in front of the guild but only seeing his beautiful bride beaming. She'd almost looked nervous; their new status made the act more _significant_ somehow. Laying with his mate for the first time and the feeling of love he was sure couldn't get any stronger blossoming into something deeper than what a word could express. Levy keeping his heart safe when he was troubled and reminding him to appreciate the little things.

A sudden and powerful grip came from her hand, and a surge of light blinded him even behind his closed lids. Then there was nothing. No feeling from his body, yet there was a gentle caress to his mind, and he felt his Shrimp, his Levy all around him.


	10. A Royal Affair

**_Thank you for your patience with me! Its all super wtf from here, so ENJOY. Let me know what you think- this chapter was a bear._** ** _I do not own Fairy Tail._**

 **Chapter 9: A Royal Affair**

Once upon a time, as all Fairy Tales of old began, there lived a king. His rule and deed were just. The people lived contentedly under him without fear or doubt in the kindness extended to them.

Castle Magnolia stood tall among the rolling hillside obscured by a dense forest. Life was lush, and the villagers had learned to strike harmony with nature. They took only what they needed to survive and no more, allowing the wild things to thrive in their own right.

The night the ruler grew ill, it had been an evening filled with the first winter storm of the season. The stone-built quarters were harder to keep warm now, but the servants managed. Such a vigilant man stoked the fire in the hearth with a practiced hand, only stopping when the blaze roared uncomfortably warm in his face. Pushing the sweat from his brow, he straightened and looked back at his friend and lord, nestled firmly beneath several pelts.

"Are you feeling the warmth, your Highness?" The gentle tenor of his voice warbled among the cracks and hisses of the logs.

"The title isn't necessary while I lie here in such a state, Lu." The king sighed from his bed. "I'm comfortable enough I suppose. I'll just have to wait out this blasted cold, it seems." The prospect made him feel miserable, his delicate brow pinching together beneath the shimmering blue sea of his hair.

"I'm only calling you this because it seems to light a fire under your backside, Levi. You could use one now, I think." The servant quipped, winking as he tied back the loose blond hair that had escaped to fly about his face.

"What _dedication_ you have." The king sniffed, hiding his grin in his hand. "With _friends like you_ , who needs enemies, I swear it."

Lu simply smiled, grabbing the stool that sat near the fire and placing it nearer the bed so they could speak more intimately. His shadow fell onto Levi, obscuring his expression in the night save for the moon reflecting back from his eyes.

"How did today fare?" he asked as he sat, dusting his palms off against each other. "Lady Jet seemed to enjoy your company…"

Levi's smile waned ever so slightly, his gaze falling to the wolf fur he'd burrowed beneath. "I suppose she did. **Much** to Lady Droy's dismay." He wanted to admit to his closest confidant that all these matches his advisers were presenting him with were completely useless, but felt like complaining about something like that was in poor taste. They were only trying to ensure the bloodline continued, now that he assumed the throne.

"So they _DID_ squabble earlier. Lady Jet ought to know better than to pick a fight with someone quite a bit larger than herself…" The two laughed at that before Levi shivered involuntarily and reburried himself. Concerned, Lu reached over and felt the kings forehead with his hand and frowned. " _Still_ chilled. I'll fetch some water and herbs to help you sleep. Try to relax, if you can."

Hazel eyes shutting in fatigue, the ruler hummed in acknowledgement, snuggling deeper into the bedding. "I'll do that."

The fire crackled in the low-lit chamber, the light creeping through his lids. The shadow of his friend passed over him on their way to the door. Sighing, he heard Lu mumble to someone outside before heading off down the corridor, the door shutting behind him.

All laid quiet for a while, with only the fire and the howling wind shifting through the silence. Levi sniffled, but felt his upturned nose protest and he prepared to sneeze. The percussive action had him bolting upright, his face buried in a cleaning rag. The force caused his lungs to itch and soon he was coughing wetly into a fresh portion of the cloth, struggling to sit himself more upright.

Clanking steps grew near at a slightly hurried pace, a guard that had entered the room upon Lu's absence stood beside him, preparing his bedding in a higher position. Once they'd finished, they placed a hot metal hand on Levi's shoulder to lay him back.

"Thank you." He sniffed, trying desperately to right his sinuses.

"Always, Your Highness." A low, feminine voice echoed metallically through the guards helmet.

Levi paused and looked up at the retreating knight in full plate. "Steel?"

They stopped, turning abruptly and fisting a hand over their heart. "Yes, Your Highness."

" _Stop that_ ," the king sighed in exasperation, and gestured to the stool beside him, "I think we're past formalities at this point, _don't you_?"

Hesitating, the knight slowly took her place next to her king, pushing her sword so that it wouldn't hit the floor suddenly in it'd scabbard. Unsure of where to place their hands they simply placed them on their knees in a posture of discomfort, saying nothing.

"I've _missed_ you, _my love_." Levi crooned quietly, reaching a hand to caress the thin sliver of skin exposed between helm and neck. "I can't stop thinking of you. Everytime you're forced to go out, I worry you won't return."

"Your worry, Your Highness, is unnecessary. Ain't no one taking me out." The warrior sniffed haughtily, unmoving from her post.

The king's hand fell reluctantly back to the furs he pulled more tightly around himself. " _Gaj_ , Save that talk for battle. Be yourself… please?"

The response came back strained. " _Sire_ , let us stick to our stations, if it's not too bold to say."

" _Gajeel_." The king grouched again, now trying to remove her ebony head gear, the firelight surrounding the inlaid dragon design and nearly bringing it to truth.

" **Levi**!" She hissed, catching his hands and placing them back in the rulers lap. "Lily _suspects_ us." The armor around her shoulders shook with emotion. "Don't think he'd _say_ anythin' but… **please** understand, I have a family ta feed. I can't go off gettin' executed cuz the King won't settle a bride while his _whore knight lives_."

" **Enough**." Levi's demeanor shifted slightly, his affection becoming a scold. " _I will not allow such talk_. Not while I still breath. Not even from _you_." Gajeel said nothing, the widening of her eyes hidden beneath layers of armor.

"I've been looking into it and... _my love_ , I'm so close to finding a loophole that will allow us to be together. _No other woman_ shall wear the crown of leaves. I swear it." He continued, placing her metal hand on his chest. "The squires shall rue the day they taught me to read, but there will be _no doubt_ that _you_ are my Queen. Not from **anyone**."

"Who said I wanted ta be Queen?" Her quiet, contemplative voice buzzed against metal. "I wasn't born ta wear dresses'n attend fancy parties."

Levi glared at the knight, nose pinching angrily. " ** _Remove your helm_**." He ordered, his tone giving Gajeel the chills. She knew she'd gone and said something stupid. With some effort, she tugged her head from the metal casing and deposited it in her lap. She ran a hand through her raven hair, cropped short to lay just above the lip of her gear for safety.

Sure that she looked terrible, all sweaty and unwashed from a hard days work, the knight tried to smooth out her hair and dab at her face with her forearm. Until she realized it was both metal and would not properly meet her face in full armor.

" _Look at me_ ," The king asked a little softer this time, guiding her chin with a curled finger. "Now, _you know_ I do more than live lavishly. In fact, if you think I've touched a ground tuber since the famine, you have another thing coming." He coughed then, and Gajeel waited patiently for Levi to continue, eyes lowered in shame.

"I make hard choices, and have to stand by them. Do you understand how taxing it is to tell people there is a drought I can do nothing about?" The ruler rubbed at the tired bags under his eyes then looked up at her. "They all still look to me, expecting some solution from thin air- but _there isn't always one to be found_."

"Didn't mean anythin' by it." Gajeel grumbled, hastily looking into her lap and examining the firelight dancing around her metal knuckles

"You _did_ , but it's _fine_. There's nothing saying being king is less noble than being a knight." His pale fingers played with a stray bang that had escaped the others. "I'd be happy to have an accomplished fighter and **begrudgingly** compassionate woman as the queen of Castle Magnolia."

Gajeel's eyes met his, and while her own were uncertain, the pure warmth and acceptance that met her gaze stole her breath. The king was… undoubtedly handsome, his hazelnut eyes sparkling with firelight and love. His nimble, clever hands reached for her, taking her metal shoulders in his grasp to bend her closer.

" _Take this off…_ " he whispered into the shell of her ear. His sigh was warm just beyond her lobe, tickling the fine hair on her nape.

" _Do ya think this is a good idea_?" She worried, but her raised heart rate called attention to the spaulders she had just removed with some effort. His grin became devious, his oversized canines shining back at her.

"It's the **best** idea." He growled, his voice sounding much deeper… almost as if it _wasn't his own_. "You gonna make me wait, **Shrimp**?"

Gajeel scoffed playfully while continuing to unhook and discard her armor, the metal falling to the floor with heavy clangs. " _Keep it up_." She chastised knowingly, the remainder of her armor, the plates running across her thighs and shins appeared large on her, almost as if they'd been made for a person _much taller than herself_. "I **won't** be held responsible for what happens _should you push me too far_."

His eyes widened at that, grin curling even further and his brow furrowing. In the darkness, his hair looked black, shadowy and long around his shoulders. Something about the look seemed peculiar to her, almost as if she was seeing him for the first time… _again_?

All of this was... _so familiar..._

" _Ohhhohohoooo_ … are ya gonna **get** me, **Shortstuff**?" he teased. Those eyes, they were those of a hunter, crimson, unblinking and overly aware. " **Fuck** , I'd love it if ya'd **try** …" Everything about him looked hungry, down to the sharp claws that dug into the furs beneath him.

Stepping out of the remaining gear, Gajeel gingerly climbed onto the bed. The moonlit window she passed made her short hair shine like the morning sky and her tanned skin pale. " _You think you're so **tough**_ , but I'm not _convinced_ ," she said, her quiet grin remaining unbothered by his attempts to rouse her.

An odd feeling settled over her when she spoke, as if she were not herself. Her limbs felt strange, heavy even, but the look the love of her life gave her quieted the anxious bounce of her nerves.

" _C'mere_ … I have a point to prove..." His hands tugged her forward and slid down her bare sides. Where had her under things gone?? "..and I **know** what you like… _Levy_."

Their eyes widened together, his salacious grin falling. "... ** _Levy_** …?"

The stonework. The winter storm. The _firelight._ Memories... flooding them both.

Their _wedding night_ away in an old-world cottage in the woods. Away from prying eyes.

" _How_ " She said, suddenly panicked, her eyes scrutinizing her surroundings and body trembling but not for the chill of the winter night still howling outside the window. _"Why are you here, Gajeel?? You need to leave... **NOW**!"_ Levy's heart was pounding, and nervous tears collected in her eyes.

The dragon flew from the bed after her when she slid off and worried her head in her hands. _"What is it?"_ He asked putting hands on her bare shoulders. Gods… feeling her this way… it made him feel _whole_ again.

Levy flinched, her bare feet slapping the stone floor when she turned and took his hands in hers. _" **Listen**_ _There isn't much time! You have to leave right now!! **He's coming!"**_

Gajeel's fists clenched in her hands, and his teeth ground uneasily in his mouth. " _Who's_ comin? I ain't leavin' without you, Shorty." There would be nothing standing between them, and He'd maim anything that tried.

 _"You **don't** understand! You **have to go right now!** He'll…"_ Levy's eyes bulged, and she roughly grabbed hold of his face and seemed to struggle with her words, breath ragged and forced. Gajeel was about to question her, but her voice managed to choke out despite her numb lips.

 _"Th-the seed of life! The seed of life!! **Protect** them! **Protect** … fr-om hi-him! Gaj! I **m-meant to t-tell you!** I-"_ She clutched herself around the middle, openly weeping. _"H-have to st-stay! **Pro-"**_

The door burst open, Lu barging in with eyes livid and black gnarled vines creeping round his forearms. A glass of water shattered in his grip and fell to the floor, noxiously fizzing a hole into the stone floor. **"COME TO ME, DRAGONKIN!"** His smile twisted, elongating into a familiar face-splitting grin.

The world around them began to melt into blackness, Levy's fingers grew sharp, and an angry bellow that reverberated Gajeel's whole body spat from her mouth. **_"YOU SHAN'T TOUCH HIM, VILE CRETIN."_**

A hand closed around his wrist when he tried to aid her, and he reflexively swung around with his fist. A silver haired woman caught it easily, and called over his shoulder. **_"I'VE GOT HIM! GO!"_**

Levy nodded, not taking her eyes away from the blight snapping in front of her. An inhuman rumbling came from her chest, coal colored scales slid over her skin and she inhaled deeply.

 ** _"IRON SHADOW DRAGON'S ROAR!"_**

A vortex of violently swirling grey and black spewed from her mouth just before black vines wrapped themselves around her shins and climbed her trembling legs. The poisonous plants were _everywhere_ , swallowing the space around her.

 ** _"LEVY!!!"_** Gajeel bellowed, trying to break free of the grip on his arm. To his dismay, he was dragged easily backward into a… hole… in the darkness. **_"GET YER FUCKIN' HANDS OFFA ME!"_**

 _"Language."_ The silver haired woman chastised him when the void swallowed them up.


	11. The Shape of Love

**Chapter 10 The Shape of Love**

The darkness was thick, viscous like a cold molasses entering his lungs and sight. The sensation was stifling, and Gajeel sucked in deeply trying to fill himself with fresh air. It was like trying to breath through a mouth full of cotton.

"Relax. You're safe here." A female voice that was unfamiliar to him said at his left. Turning toward the sound, he could see he was, in fact, sitting clothed beside the silver haired woman on a loveseat. The dragon tried to demand answers, tried to roar in outrage at her, but his words stuck in his mouth as if trying to speak underwater.

"You won't be able to berate me here, I'm afraid." She sighed and put a hand over his. "This place is saved for memory only, so you'll be even a bit more powerless than you were in the subconscious."

Unsure of what to make of all this new information, he looked down at the hand on top of his. It was aged, with a freshwater pearl bracelet hanging limply around her wrist and onto the back of his hand. The jewelry seemed familiar to him, but from where he wasn't certain.

"I can see how she grew to love you." The woman said after a pause, drawing his face back up. Her hazel eyes softened despite the crows feet that crinkled into view with her small grin. "You have so much love to give- you never really had anyone to give it to before. I guess my little Levy girl is lucky to have you."

Gajeel gaped at the woman and truly saw her for the first time. She was petite of frame and stature, sitting poised and polite but comfortable beside him. The hair that waved around her face framed an upturned nose and a shy, quiet mouth.

"Yes, my boy. I am Emaline Mcgarden, mother to your wife." She gave a small chuckle that gave him goosebumps. They could be twins if it weren't for their obvious age difference. "I know you've been taking care of my little girl, so let me take care of you for now."

The smile faded from her expression and she drew a bit closer, eyes severe and calculating just like her daughter's. "I need to show you something. It will come as a bit of a shock, but it's something you need to know before you can return to your body."

The slayer could only nod dumbly, an eerie prickle at the base of his neck made his jaw clamp shut. When she witnessed his acquiescence, she raised a hand and a projector flickered on behind them, startling the man out of his seat. It was like being in a theater, his silhouette blacking out a portion of the champagne colored picture. Sheepish, he sat and stared at the screen.

Green tile appeared. Specifically, the sage-green tile in the master bathroom of their home. A heavy thudding reminded him of the sound of his own heart when it raced. A deep breath was exhaled, and the view shifted up to the simple clock high on the pale wall in the corner of the room.

"Move faster, damnit!" Levy's voice griped. She sounded anxious, frazzled. It drew his brows together; what was the point of this? What was she waiting for.

Her palms covered the projection, and he heard her breath quiver back around him from the obstruction. "Mom?" She said, in a small voice.

"I'm here, baby girl," the woman sniffed next to him, her fingers curling around Gajeel's knuckles. When he looked to her, he could see tears glistening in her eyes. "I'm here always. You know that."

"...I miss you." Levy said, the projection being rubbed foggy for a moment. The dragon could see a shine on her eyelashes where the hard vanity lights struck them. Sniffing, the picture went black, then brightened at the clock.

Slowly the frame turned to the mahogany vanity and the contrasting pink plastic stick sitting on it.

Gajeel's eyes widened. He couldn't breath, his heart was pounding so furiously in his chest he thought he'd lose his mind sitting still. She couldn't have been… she couldn't be…

The picture was moving, and he came face to face with his beautiful Levy. She looked tired, as if the day had worn her down. Dressed in an orange tank top and floral spanks, he'd never seen her look so beautiful in this private moment meant only to be seen by herself. Her hair was tossed about and she had makeup in the creases under her bottom lids.

This was real. This was the shape of his love made physical.

Then, Levy Mcgarden looked down into two pink lines.

Something swelled in his heart, something even deeper than the love he thought could never grow stronger. It was as if he was there beside her, sharing the shocked joy he could now see lighting up in her reflection. There was a moment where they laughed together, two people so much in love and separated by time smiling like fools and shedding incredulous tears. Gajeel put a hand over his mouth and choked on an enamoured sob, his hand soon wet and making his jaw numb from where he'd grabbed his face and begun to squeeze.

He was a father. The notion was exhilarating… how many times had he doubted he'd get to this point in life? A wife in his arms with a baby on the way?? His very soul vibrated in elation, the emotion dripping from his face into his lap.

 _'Oh, **Shorty** ,'_ he thought, his body shaking with pride and such love. _'Yer incredible, woman.'_

The blunette seemed to get over her shock first, and turned to a second item sitting beside the sink- her communication lacrima. It lit up in a blue haze with the channeling of her magic and she held it to her ear. The projection moved to the doorway and peaked into the master bedroom; there, he saw himself laying spread eagle and completely dead to the world with an open mouth. Sans clothing.

The incredibly noticeable trail of drool hanging from his chin had him wondering what exactly she saw in him.

 _"Levy?? It's early… everything okay?"_

The voice came from one side of the screen and his wife came back into view, looking at herself absently while she answered. "Everything's fine, Wendy. Sorry for the hour, but I had a quick question."

The sky dragon's voice sounded relieved when she responded. _"Sure thing! What's up?"_

Levy smiled to herself and put a hesitant hand on her low belly. "You'll be in Bosco next week, right? Would it be okay if we got together while Gaj, Lily and I are in town?"

 _"Sure! I'd like that!"_ The dragon giggled. _"What's the occasion??"_

Levy looked down at herself and caressed the two printed poppies at the top of her shorts, her smile serine and lovely. "It's nothing. Just wanted to see you. Do me a favor and don't tell Gaj- it'll be a surprise. He's been missing his little sister."

A feeling of horror blocked his ears and made his veins icy. This moment was supposed to be happy, his wife hanging up the phone to hug herself around the middle with a wide, excited smile. The screen went black, and there was only his thudding heart, his fear and rage mixing with panic.

A dead mother. Wildflowers… poppies. Trying to save **_them_**.

The sonuvabitch was trying to fuck with his child.

Where he had been unable to make a sound before, a ragged, powerful, bloodthirsty roar echoed in the space around them from his mighty lungs.

No one would find a **shred** of this thing to bury.

"You understand then. Good. My daughter will keep him at bay for as long as she can." The silver head lowered, her eyes falling to her hands curled together in her lap. " _Please_ , son. _Please keep them safe."_

Emaline rose and hugged him then, her palm soothing his back, as he had always seen mothers do in the park when their child fell or was scolded to tears.

"I have _faith_ in you, Gajeel Redfox. Levy consents to whatever you have to do, even if it costs her her own life." At the admission, tears fell between them onto his shirt.

 _' **No way in hell.'**_ he thought, his shoulders hunching aggressively at the notion.

"That's straight from her, son. They mean more to her than _anything_ in the world right now." She put a hand on his crown with some difficulty and a little help from his stooping. "Such is the mother's way. Imagine losing the one thing you're trying to protect."

 _'I don't **HAVE** ta imagine.'_ His inner voice growled, punctuated by the worried grit of his teeth.

 _"Gajeel-oni?? Hey!! Someone help us!!!"_ Wendy's voice called from far away through the dark.

"Then I've done all I can. You must leave now. _Don't come back until my grandchildren are safe."_ Her silver hair began to disintegrate into flower petals, blowing away with a metaphysical wind he couldn't feel. His vision was shaking, warped and colorful. "Take care, son."

Wait...grand _children_ _??_ This was too much shock for him to handle. Too much all at once.

Wendy's voice sounded a little clearer now. _"I'm sorry I know this is going to hurt but…"_

Pain flew through his body all the way to his brain and his eyes snapped open despite the harsh hospital lights blinding him. He gasped and his body groped at the fresh air, his gaze finally adjusting to the people crowding him, checking his pulse, checking his pupils for dilation, re-sticking sensors to his chest and head. Levy's hand wasn't in his. Poking, prodding… Gajeel felt like a pin cushion and his irritation flared in tandem with his fading confusion.

 ** _"Where's my wife?"_** he growled, his voice horse from disuse.

"Mrs. Redfox is stable." A female doctor smiled at his progress kindly. "She's right over there. Please, don't worry. She is doing just fine."

Gajeel relaxed a bit, and he felt his pulse slow to normal levels as another attendant took his blood pressure at his opposite side. That was before the memories returned from his plunge into Levy's mind. Suddenly he couldn't keep still, struggling to sit up no thanks to his aching limbs and the protesting hospital staff.

"I need _Wendy_. **_Right now."_**


	12. Among Refuse

_**Hey all. sorry its been a minute since the last update. Death in the family. Ive started the chapter after this and im hoping it will be up sooner rather than later. I have some pressing events the next month but ill update when i can. thank you for your patience. lots of OC here, and i apologize for that, but i hope it does its job for the story. i do not own fairy tail. i do not make money writing this.**_

_

* **Chapter 11** *

 _"I swear!"_ a weak voice choked, between two raw iron bars. Hope was fading as fast as it had come, and could only be replaced by sinking doubt and despair in such a place. " _Please!_ Won't you _hear_ me?! _I swear!!_ I never _touched_ her!! I would _never_ do such a thing!"

A passing guard looked him up and down while his sure steps failed. While he'd been in his position for a long time now, it was unusual to find a prisoner that tugged at his heart so plainly. The tall, angular man steeled his exterior, reminding himself (and not for the first time this week) that a jury would soon bring about justice. No matter the outcome.

"Quiet." He said, without his whole commanding presence but continued diligently along his route. The tiny elderly man whimpered, cowering from the noise despite its lack of force. He'd been so relieved to be free from The Seed's influence, feeling in charge of his faculties for the first time in too many years. The last month of accusing looks and lacking conversation were cracking the last shred of sanity he had.

" _Please_ ," he whimpered, sinking to his knees on the cobble floor. His cerulean hair frizzed to both sides, unkempt and forgotten; just like the rest of him.

Calls from other cells in the area swallowed the last of his threshold before tears overtook him.

" _Yo_ ," a pinched, feminine voice laughed from the room beside him, "I heard you fucked with _Black Steel Gajeel's_ old lady? Fuck that's _**ballsy**_! There won't be a body left once he gets a hold of you!"

Another, this one lower, from the barred alcove in front of him, "Hey old man, _you got money??"_ The man waved his arm between the bars invitingly. "You old fucks are always _loaded_ … I can get ya _anything_ if you make it worth my _time_."

A frenzied laugh crowed down the hall, boisterous and deep, _**"GOOD FOR YOU, THAT FAIRY TAIL BITCH NEEDED TO BE KNOCKED DOWN A PEG!"**_

 _"Theendisnigh!"_ A jumbled, urgent voice rose in volume from where it has been but a hushed constant rambling whimper before beneath the noise. _"Repentforyoursinsandprepareforthesecondcoming!CrimeSociéreshallreturnusallfromwhencewecame!"_

"Aw **FUCK** not this guy again- _TINY_ _shut your roommate's lunatic mouth!"_ The female voice from before complained petulantly, the sharp angles of her words punctuating percussively into everyone's ears.

A child-like voice answered kitty corner from the old man's cage. "Moved cells, Slick. Guess we'll all be hearing about the end of the world all night."

 _"I will give 2,000 Jewel to the first slimy fuck that shuts the schizo up."_ The woman tried again, desperation maring her irritation.

 _"Nomeremancanfightjudgementday! Iprayforthesinsofthemenaroundme!"_

A posh scoff and click of the tongue broke through the rambling from the other side of his cell. "Not just men here, fucking misogynist!"

"Oh _fuck me_ , not the **femi-nazi**." A man with a deep scar penetrating his mouth and jaw swung his forehead against the bars he was clutching across the way. His features were dark, his eyes black like a hungry predator.

"Come say that to my face, _pig!"_ a sharp, clawed hand swiped out into the hall from the woman's cell to the right.

"I'd like to do a lot more that _talk_ to that face, _**bitch**_." The animal-like man growled, pressing half his face to the part in the bars. A deadly grin flashed on his face as he licked the bar in front of him suggestively.

 _ **"Sounds like a great way to lose an important body part!"**_ She growled back, both arms outstretched and swiping at the air. _**"Come and get me, rapist fuck! You think I haven't dealt with trash like you before? Give me a reason to bite it off, you ape!"**_

 _"Old man!"_ the shady dealer hissed again before him, his voice growing just a touch louder to be heard over the squabble. " _I'm serious, if you need anything: meds, tools... I have the hook up if you have coin."_

The man could only hug his aching bones tightly around himself and pray for a miracle to help him leave this place alive.

A prayer, he thought solemnly, no one would hear among the refuse around him.


	13. Unrelenting

**_Things will get pretty dark from here on out. Prepare yourselves. Also I would like to thank those of you with kind messages supporting me through my familial loss- its appreciated._** ** _I do not own Fairy Tail or its characters._**

 **Chapter 12: Unrelenting**

The heart monitors were drumming a steady beat between those attached to his wife and him; it was driving him mad. He hadn't been able to fall asleep last night, watching Levy's chest gently ebb and flow and could no longer sit in this god-forsaken bed. There was an itch in his limbs to get up, and he would be drowned in that metaphorical water choking to death until he complied.

Wendy had used the last of her strength to pry their hands apart and was currently recovering in another room. He knew, if there was going to be any way to convince medical staff steeped in science that his wife was indeed with child ('No, with _children_ ,' he amended taking a moment to sweat at the thought) despite the battery of tests indicating otherwise, he'd need her help. When he'd awoke, he raised the alarm and the techs had set to work trying to confirm the pregnancy without success. Perhaps it had something to do with Levy's fight to keep the blight at bay.

So he'd reluctantly sat watching her and thinking over the situation at hand.

What _else_ had Levy been trying to tell him? Not for the first time, he wished their roles had been reversed and he could have taken the burden of fighting while she did the mental footwork. His children would be safe, and loved with their nakama looking after her while she played chess with a _monster_. Shrimp was so fucking smart, she could formulate a plan of attack **and** execute it before his body had time to atrophy like it had.

Speaking of which…

Something was different in Shorty when he had come to; her cheeks were more full and complexion healthier than he'd seen. Her body was more robust, and her belly slightly larger.

Gajeel sat upright, delighted that the action seemed easier this morning than the others. He rubbed at his abdomen and found the ridges of his body to have swelled; he actually felt pretty great under the circumstances. Like he had been given a full meal to contentment as a starving man.

Looking back to Levy, he smiled; she had given him this gift. Strength would be needed for the task she had asked of him and… maybe he had given her strength too? She certainly looked better...

Swinging his feet over the side of the bed, he padded easily and unabashedly in his hospital gown to his little blue fairy. It didn't matter if her connection didn't rush to meet his, he knew she was still here; still being tough as nails. The dragon rubbed his scent across her cheek with his own, a deep reptilian purr gurgling in his throat. He hadn't been able to do this with his body so weak before, and now he felt somehow he could comfort her and keep her safe this way.

Or at least make himself feel useful in all this madness. These were dragon's thoughts...

 _ **My** mate. **My** love_.

Gajeel paused his face rubbing and looked down her frame to her abdomen.

 _The mother of my children_.

She couldn't have been more than a few months along, there was so little physical indicator that she was pregnant. He ran a hand over the place where he knew the new lives were growing and sniffed, inhaling the scent of Levy McGarden.

Maybe he'd been too close to her to be able to find the scent of motherhood on her before. The change would have come as subtle as it had for her. His mind drifted as he sat beside her, his thigh nestled against her ribcage.

A few nights before they'd left on their trip, Shrimp had made a special request of Lily for the dinner he'd prepped that night. She had requested no salt on her meal and the two men had practically choked on their tongues at that. Shorty was notoriously picky about her food, one of the only ways she allowed herself to be a handful to others.

 _Salty_. She loved salty foods in every combination possible so long as it wasn't overdone. So her request was plain bizarre, considering the shaker with holes punched into the ceramic topper in the shape of an "S" practically lived on her side of the table.

"I just want to taste my food tonight. That's all." Levy had said brushing her azure bangs out of her face. " _Don't give me that look!_ I can always add salt if I want!"

They had watched in mock horror between bites of their own meal as Levy ate without seasoning at all. She'd complimented the cooking and even remarked on how much she missed the rest of the flavors when she added table salt. The responding incredulous stares made her laugh and she continued eating despite them.

Maybe it had been the next day, she'd been irritable and lost in thought. When he had slid his hand up her side and rubbed her breast playfully trying to entice her she had shied away from the touch. Apparently her breasts were tender, but this too hadn't raised any flags for him as it was common around her cycle for such things to happen.

It was impolite, but with his sense of smell it was difficult to ignore when she was on her period. Had he been a little more observant, maybe he would have known she was late and irritable out of worry. With this, though, he tried to give her the appearance of privacy.

Now with her here in this hospital bed, he couldn't help but wonder if things could have been different had be been more aware of her condition. Gajeel's face pinched at his own carelessness; she sure as hell would never have gone out on a mission, let alone one that would put their lives in any danger…

Then again, she was **HIS** wife, just as stubborn and bull-headed as he was when it came down to it. _Could he have kept her from it, really??_

The snap of a new connection should have traveled through his palm when he rested it against her womb, but it didn't. How was he going to prove she was pregnant when it all could have been the equivalent of a "very real dream" in the mind of someone else?

"Ga….Gajeel! You look **great**!"

Swinging around at his name, Wendy leapt onto his side and embraced him warmly. "Your **color** is back!" She beamed, at him when she finally let go and began looking him over and taking his pulse. "It's like you've gained fifty pounds! You almost look like **before**!"

"Gihi!" he laughed and held her at arm's length by the shoulders. "Quit fussin', sis! We need to talk."

"Okay…" Her deep blue pigtails drooped around her shoulders, emphasized by her dip in mood, "...well first let me say that my privileges have been revoked as a nurse here. So if you're asking me to do that connection with you again, I'm sorry to say I won't be able to help with that."

"I figured as much. Can't exactly hide a lacrima the size'a yer _melon_." He admitted, feeling worry set into his jaw for a moment. How would he get back if he couldn't count on that lacrima being available?

"Wendy," he interrupted himself and turned to look at his wife, "Did Levy call you before we left for Bosco?"

The sky dragon's eyes widened and she sat in the chair at Levy's bedside. "She did… how did you… ?"

"I saw some'a her memories while we were connected. Wanted to make sure it wasn't a trick from that bastard." His heavy thudding angry heart was making the monitor blip protesting the mood change; he ripped the wires from his skin but it only served to begin the persistent sound of a flatline.

Wendy hopped from the chair and turned the machine off. "Pretty sure I'll get in trouble for that." She admitted, worrying her hands in her lap once she sat down.

"I'll tell'em you saved it from bein' smashed by me. Don't worry about it." He waved her concern away. "Wendy, I need you to examine Shorty."

The serious tone of his voice stopped her twitching hands. "Why?...What is it, Gajeel?"

"You got rid'a all that black shit, but the bastard is still in _there_." He growled putting a possessive hand over her low belly.

"Who are you talking about? The wizard you chased?? He's in _prison_ now.."

The dragon shook his head, his face hardening. "I need ya to see if you can get rid'a that black stuff. Shorty is fightin' him but I don't know how much longer she can hold out." Desperation was ringing behind his anguished, jerky movements and Wendy looked Levy over thoughtfully.

"Okay."

Determined, Wendy crawled onto Levy's bed and straddled her knees, gently shifting her weight onto the sky dragon's own feet. Keeping the frail, incapacitated woman modest, she shrugged her blankets down onto her hips and brushed the hem of her hospital gown up to settle just below her breasts.

Curiously, he watched the younger woman remove something from her pocket and looked down at the woman beneath her thoughtfully as if trying to take measurements.

Gajeel stood impatiently beside his wife, taking her hand in his own and memorising the soft, lovely feeling of her skin. Though the limp nature of the appendage was unsettling, it was a comfort to look down and see her there and know she still faught.

His eyes flickered up upon Wendy's bending forward to trace his wife's stomach, but what he saw put shards of ice in his veins.

With two small fingers, she had traced in deep purple oil makeup an angry, purple design over Levy's stomach.

 _Phantom Lord's guild mark_.

Words failed him; so much confusion, hatred and **RAGE** socked his jaw rendering it useless temporarily, his hand moving to stop her before she could trace the last of the smudge.

 _"Nothin' personal, blue fairy. It's just business- you understand."_ The sky maiden grunted, the sentence coming out of her mouth in a mockery of his own slow way of speaking.

 ** _"Wendy…"_** His body shook violently, torn between killing her and blatant disbelief. There's no way she would do this… no way she could _KNOW_ exactly what… he had said to…

A childish giggle shook her shoulders and she looked up at him plucking her fingers from her mouth.

 ** _"What you said to who??"_** She grinned, her teeth sharp and stained purple. The vicious smile stretched from ear to ear.

Every sense of this was wrong, his heart hammering in dismay. His feet wouldn't move, his breath pushed from him by inky black vines curling around him, choking and destroying all in their wake.

 ** _"Did you really think you were safe?"_** Her voice echoed through the deep black chamber now surrounding him. **_"Did you really think you could escape from me? How common. How weak."_**

The darkness forced itself into his lungs and eyes and ears, a sad cacophony of shrieks and pleas scraping unrelenting around him.

Cutting him to pieces, scraps of himself.

 _'Why?'_ he asked himself before he lost his sense of self.

 _'Why was this happening?'_


	14. Confession

**_Because you're all awesome, double update this week. I took some liberties with Chapter 488, so if youre not caught up... quit dallying! For real though! You're missing out!!_**

 ** _I do not own fairy tail or any of the dialogue i manipulated for how Gajeel Redfox reads in my head. SPOILERS SO YA KNOW DONT MOVE AHEAD UNLESS YA DONE READ 488 YO. Much love, fam. Yeah I said fam and im in my 30s. Come at me bro._**

*

 **Chapter 13: Confession**

Fog.

Black fog.

"-ay thE HELL AWAY FROM ME!"

A voice far off in the distance. His voice.

"IT'S TOO LATE FER ME! MY BODY… HNGG…" Pain strained his voice, the syllables sharp in the blackness. "IT'S ALREADY BECOME NOTHIN' BUT'A MASS'A MAGIC BARRIER PARTICLES!"

Destructive noises rang out into the endless night.

A choking noise stuttered, a bloody effort-filled cough. "If ya touch me… then you'll also.."

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT!" A feminine voice roared, much closer.

"LEVY!"

"NO! YOU'RE COMING BACK WITH ME NO MATTER WHAT!!"

Darkness gave way to a blurry projection, the picture clouded and wet. Heavy breathing huffed all around, the picture of smoldering wreckage heaving, growing unsteadily shorter from an advanced height.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, GAJEEL!??"

The picture swung toward the sound; A distressed blue-haired woman strained against shackles holding her wrists taught to a boulder.

"You left me no other choice…" the second voice sniffed with shame, the picture rounding on him a second later. A swirling vortex of evil grey black swallowed Gajeel to his chest, his head hung, shivering and convulsing in despair.

"No!" A deep bass boomed around empty seats. No one was there to witness the labored nature of the projected gait, the anxious hurried breaths that rasped over the woman's angered screams.

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW, I'M NOT THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS I WAS WHEN YOU FIRST MET ME!" She bellowed, using her free swinging leg to sculpted letters in the air in front of her and sliced the boulder behind her with another well-placed sweep, freeing her to move once again.

"LEVY NO!!" The bass shouted, water and dust clouding the visual as the picture leapt foreward, trying to catch up.

"I'M BEGGIN' YA TA STOP!" Gajeel cried fear gripping him from the collarbones up, the only parts of him able to be seen through the mad swirl of hell around him.

In desperation the viewer made one last pounce and caught a face full of hair the color of sky. The locks thrashed, and the picture took a moment to adjust before it stabilized. Levy beat her fists against the black fur and muscle enveloping her, the details obscuring quickly with more salty tears.

"UNHAND ME, LILY!!!" The script mage trilled, clawing and scratching, doing everything she could to fend off the strength holding her in place.

"I must refuse your request," The view sank to their feet, Levy's kicking restlessly against his shins. The view went black, the bass pinched through gritted teeth, "...lest you be dragged in too."

She shrieked with all she had into the left side of the projection, her voice deafening and beginning to lose strength in places from overuse, "I DON'T CARE! LET ME GO!!" Her head must have connected purposely with the side of his face, when that unique noise that only came from head trauma sounded. The picture flashed open for a moment to focus on her animal-wide eyes pouring tears before the picture went black again with a sorrowful male sob. "AT THIS RATE," Levy choked on her words, "GAJEEL WILL…"

"Levy…" His voice came, but velvet soft and full of regret. "Back then I really was just a degenerate scumbag…" he sniffed and heaved a heavy, wistful sigh through his tears, "...But... then I met you and ya were able to bring out all the best parts of me…What little there was, anyway."

Levy had gone silent through the blackness, save for her irrate hiccups and sputtering. He sort of chuckled rhyly, "Ya taught me what it means ta love…" Gajeel paused, possibly to observe and acknowledge his own confession for the first time, "...and for that, I will be eternally grateful."

"Gajeel…" A whisper of a voice shook close in the darkness, followed by shifting clothes. Lily's eyes opened enough to locate the crook of Levy's neck and promptly bury the picture in it, the view once again going dark.

"With you by my side, fer the first time I was able ta discover'n think about things that never occurred ta me before," Gajeel sounded sure, and confident when he continued, his mouth uttering the deepest pieces of him he never let see the light of day, "...The future, a family, happiness. I can't help but laugh… who would have thought the great 'Badass Gajeel' of old would actually consider acting like a respectable, competent adult??" An incredulous click of the tongue came before his sincerely quieted as if telling a secret he'd never intended to share… and maybe, just maybe it was something he'd intended to take with him.

"I really did wanna walk with ya side by side... forever." Another pause, and when his voice returned he openly cried, trembling words tumbling over one another in vicious disturbing waves. "After everythin' I've faced, havin' a future with ya snatched away from me is definitely the most terrifying thing I've ever had ta endure."

"GAJEEL!" The statement was damning, the way she screamed his name sounded like an accusation; the declaration brought out an angry edge to the echoing voice that could only be reminiscent of an internal conflict concerning the fairness of life.

"I entrust my future to ya-" A verbal pat on the head: 'You be good now…' it seemed to say.

"NO!! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME, GAJEEL!!" A fire build in her words again, betrayal stung her consonants.

He shouted urgently, feeling his time grow short. "Ya gotta live to the fullest now, for your sake… and mine!!"

"I WON'T LET YOU GO!" Defiance smeared her voice against a lethargic jaw,the last of her fight struggling against her own body. "I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE ME!!"

"Lily," the picture flew up bright, with matted black fur glistening at the edges, focusing on the fraction of his best friend's face still visible through the swirling. His dark eyes furrowed, addressing the projection. "You be sure ta get Levy back ta the guild safe'n sound." Gajeel waited for a moment, the picture blurring entirely amidst defeated quivers.

"Swear to me on your life." He growled, his last request begging to be acknowledged.

"I SWEAR IT." The bass rumbled, the picture blinking several times to catch the sad yet satisfied half smile. The one that said what he could not.

'Sayonara.' It said.

Meaning, 'Since it must be so.'

The last they could see was that fateful grin slowly being overtaken.

"NOOOOOOOO!" She roared, the picture going dark again, a masculine cry of anguish joining hers and punctuated with the sound of their knees giving way beneath them and the harsh dirt accepting with dull thuds.

"GAJEEEEL!!!" She mourned.

Their voices began to climb over one another, steadily growing softer and softer in their solitude on the Sacred Mountain.

"I'm sorry, Levy, I'm so sorr-" Lily gasped.

"GIVE HIM BACK!!!! GIVE HIM BACK TO M-" The projection brightened reluctantly and rounded on the script mage heaving and clutching his heavy forearm in an iron grip.

"I couldn't lose you both!" The projection reasoned as if it were needed, pressing the area just over the view into her hair. "I couldn't keep him sa-"

"LILY WHY!??" She interrupted him once again, pushing the view away, her soulless eyes tired and rimmed crimson. "WHY DID HE HAVE T-"

"I...I don't know… I'll never kn-" They were hardly listening to the other before, their mouths moving automatically, but this conjured thought brought more tears to obstruct the view just below her chin.

"I never got to TELL HIM LILY!!" Her lip quivered when the new wave of realization struck a solid blow to her heart, her mind, her body… and it was all visible. All palpable in the clutching of her wrist, a tiny trinket wound around it. Always present, through it all.

A gift he'd given her. The last one.

"He knew Levy…" Pantherlily cooed to her, voice soft, attempting to draw her in to accept what she couldn't change. "… he kn-"

"SHUT UP!" She growled trying to push away again. "I NEVER GOT TO TELL HIM I LOVED HIM AND NOW… NOW he's gone!! He's just… it isn't FAIR!!

"I know… I know.." What else could he say. The picture wound it's arms around her more tightly.

"Don't TOUCH ME!!" The script mage growled, shoving half heartedly a few times before she slumped into his arms, the picture going black again.

"GODDAMN YOU, GAJEEL REDFOX!!! YOU STUPID… YOU… stupid, stupid man!!!"

A brilliant light broke through the clamped shut projection just before memory faded into nothingness.


	15. Primitive

**_I'd like to say, that if I've accidentally been incorrect with animal behavior or human timelines with evolution... i dont care. Enjoy it anyway._**

 ** _I dont own Fairy Tail or Gajevy._**

*

 **Chapter 14: Primitive**

Before time ruled the lives of Magnolia and all other glorious Earthland cities, there was the fiery sun. It rose and fell, leaving behind its mirror, the gentle moon. The day would come to an end only to be reborn again, it's rays consuming all in its wake.

Man was becoming smarter; language was only common in close groups, but among wandering nomads it was nearly impossible. A man could live his life without ever meeting another of his kind with the forest's hills stretched so vast in each direction.

Just such a man made his nest in a stone cave near a babbling brook. His home was mostly functional, without the trappings of the modern day. However, in a very magpie (or dragon-like) fashion, there were rocks of significant quality purposely jammed into the wall in his home, catching the light at dawn and spreading a curious color scape across his sleeping form as if it were from stained glass. Perhaps the arrangement was pleasing to his eye, or held some sort of meaning in his new fully cognitive mind.

In either case, with his long tangle of ebony hair and sure feet, he greeted the morning with a nonplussed grunt. The monotony of his existence had long since bored him, to the point that even the large wild cats on the ridges of his land no longer frightened him. He was not afraid of pain nor death, and in this way, the man was king of his territory. As such, he guarded it jealously with narrowed, scarlet eyes observing all.

The sun had risen to strike the last of his glittering gems, and so he set about his routine. Picking up his battered spear with his equally scarred sun-baked hands, he set out to track game. As hunters went, this man was exceptional, almost always embedding his weapon into his prey's heart on the first try. He made their suffering minimal and kept his tools sharp and well-maintained to a curiously expert degree. One could say there was a sort of magic in the way he worked.

The raven haired man found that there were specific types of rock that were more easily shaped in his hands. When he improved his home, chipping away at the stone he found crude, shiny grey veins that slowly turned orange over time. He worked this particular rock into his craft and somehow once they came upon his hands, the orange would slowly disappear with his work. They produced better results in workability as well as overall durability, making his meal easier to catch.

His most prized spear point was a collection of such rocks that somehow come together as if through his will alone, something he had tried with other rocks and failed.

With taught, careful limbs the man entered his forest. His behavior changed the moment a scent gave him pause several yards in among the dense trees. The man's widened, interested eyes searched for cover and found it among an overgrown copse of young trees and brush. Patiently he let out a slow breath, attempting to calm the racing of his wild heart.

Without a calm pulse, he could neither stay quiet enough for his meal to approach, nor shoot with the accuracy necessary to eat this day. So he waited, closing his eyes and focusing on the sound of life brimming around him.

A black bird approached its nest up and to his left, it's hungry chicks squawking blindly for food. A fish rose and slapped it's fin against the surface of the water near his home behind him. Soft prongs approached, brushing the new grass of Spring. His brow furrowed, his concentration increasing. Four. Eight. Twenty legs... a herd.

Opening his eyes, his pupils dilated and the ancient knowledge in his genetics sharpened his mind. Feeling the whole forest in his bones was what it meant to be alive, and it thrilled him in the core of his spirit. It was nearly impossible to stop the rush of blood throbbing in his ears now, instinct to kill for sustenance coursing through his veins.

A doe emerged into a small clearing between trees, followed closely by her spotted fawns. Another female, pregnant and walking more quickly nudged past her to a tasty tuft of wild clovers and grass. An adolescent buck of the age just shy of breeding maturity followed her, his posture more proud and alert than his mother's, ears dancing about his head- he'll make a good herd leader one day should he be able to challenge and win the right to females.

Finally bringing up the rear was the stag. The man marveled at his stature, so noble and watchful of his females and so tolerant of the young male he'd soon run off. His heavy head was crowned with a nearly symmetrical tangle of horns, and they swung to frame his face in the hunter's direction, his body rigid. Had he smelled the man? No... impossible... he was sitting down wind... and yet this creature's eyes bored into the hunter's, his cupped ears trained in his direction.

The two shared a moment, an internal battle waged between them. It was as if they were having a conversation, the buck making its case for living, and the hunter making his for the same. In the end, there was a pang of understanding in the man's chest, something a modern human might recognize as empathy. He'd been hunted by the wild cats, he'd seen the destruction of his mother and never known his father... his red irises shifted to the deer's offspring... so young yet... and who would keep them safe from the vicious felines or headstrong vulcans?

Sighing, the man lowered his spear. The stag bowed its head in thanks for safe passage through his territory. It was good now and then to let prey prosper- one day their internal conversation may be different and he needed to ensure there was enough prey to sustain him and his land. With a renewed sense of purpose, the man stood to track down another meal.

As he turned to make a new path through his forest with all six eyes trained on him, there was a whipping unnatural sound that flew past him and struck the floor at the buck's feet. Alarmed, the deer fled with white tails raised deeper into the woods. Something that looked like a curiously small spear stuck into the ground. Someone like him was hunting in his forest.

Someone didn't know it yet, but they were already dead.

Rage grew hot in his chest and throat, his nose sucking eagerly for the scent of the intruder. There! His eyes caught slight movement in a bush to his right, upwind. They'd never sense him coming with his perfectly trained body carrying him noiselessly through the undergrowth, his heart pounding and demanding bloodshed.

There they were: a smaller person than he, with little muscle mass but nimble, tricky fingers stopping to collect the small tool. They carried a thin but long curved stick with something thin attached to each side of the bend. They secured the tiny spear that had some sort of notch at its back end into the thin string and held it with purpose against their side.

The more the man looked at the trespasser, the more freakish they looked- their chest stuck out more than his and so too did their back side, but with a curiously narrow waist and less angular features. Either way, there was no way they'd be any match for his strength- not with those wimpy arms.

Bent on revenge for this transgression, the man lunged forward, his spear raised to strike point blank since this was a more personal affront. The intruder's head swung toward him, large brown eyes widening at him from between sky-colored curls. Just as quickly as he'd lurched at them, the man found his spear knocked sideways with the odd, curved stick and he nearly was run through with a tiny spear to his midsection. Angry hands wrenched the inferior tool from the intruder's scrawny grasp and tossed it sideways into his forest.

An inhuman roar sounded in the smaller person's face, the fury of the moment fueling the force with which he mauled them.

The lush green floor rushed to meet them, knocking the blue haired opponent's air from them in a painful weeze. They gasped hungrily, their eyes full of tears at the pain in their lungs. Sharp teeth glittered above them, the man's features twisting into something only resembling his normal self.

Movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, the person beneath him was scratching a curious sequence of symbols into the dirt beside them. Where the etchings had once been, it was as if they pulled something from the earth itself, a tool not unlike the knife he kept in his cave for skinning. However it was crude looking, as if carved from earth and tree in a curious mixture. The distraction held his attention enough the rogue human slashed at his face, leaving a deep wound across his cheek.

The dark man growled, filled with pain and bent his head to his hands. When they came away with a spattering of blood, he grit his teeth and raised a fist to finally strike the creature that had the balls to harm the king of these woods.

Accept no one was beneath him.

Quick feet darted through the trees away from danger, but the dark stare of the man only intensified as he shot after his new prey. Running wouldn't save them; he'd given chase to larger, more agile creatures and still got his kill. The hunted panicked and began weaving through narrower spaces trying to lose the irate pursuer. They could hear his aggressive growls and grunts getting closer until the space between them ran out and they tumbled together into a valley covered in wildflowers.

Poppies and tall grasses twisted about them until finally their momentum came to a stop. The pursuer had his arms wrapped thoroughly around the other's hips his face buried in their skin. The scent of his prey enveloped him, stirring a new sort of feeling in his belly than he'd experienced. Anger overwhelmed the new sensation and his hands reached to pin the struggling human wrists that had begun to write more symbols in the muddy ground. He wouldn't allow such an action again. Straddling his prize, he finally took in the tiny person's features.

Terror swam over the face below him, the flushed cheeks now being stained with tears. He could smell fear rolling off of them and it stroked his ego. The sniffling and panicked sobs becoming more desperate.

"No, please!! I'm sorry!! I didn't know it was your kill!! Please let me go! I'm so scared!!"

The man had never heard such noises being uttered by any animal. The only other human he'd met was the one who bore him, and there was no real attempt at communication this way. His language was very physical, talking with beasts and prey using his posturing. The concept made his head cock to the side, his angry features becoming more curious despite the throbbing in his bloody cheek meat.

The voice they had was so... delicate like a birds song or the high howl of wolves. His inquisitive nature took over, the hunter's narrowed brow relaxing somewhat into stillness, observing the creature secured beneath him. It's breathing was rapid but slowly declining, like his did at rest or in observation. It's facial features were a mystery; the way they moved suggested a change in mood, but the man couldn't make heads or tails of it.

There was something about the way the tiny human was put together that reminded him of the gems and precious rocks he had been drawn to and placed in his nest. There were several different tones of blue in their hair, ranging from light to darker and glossy, almost as if the day were to have stars the way night did. Red poppies had fallen among them, the red contrasting with the pale skin beneath his scarred, tan fingers. The way they fit under him, the gentle curves of their chest and the notch he'd unknowingly dug his facid groin into where there should be their penis.

There were things they had in common, but they were physically quite different. Something tightened in his chest, and he wasn't so sure he wanted to kill this new human any more.

"Please let me go!"

The frightened tone in their voice had his hands slowly loosening and then finally letting go. His hands steadied himself as he lifted his back end from them and shifted back on his heels.

The blue haired human slowly got into a crouch in front of him, seemingly afraid to make a move. The sun hit their hair and face, and the sight nearly stole his breath. That all too familiar rush of blood in his ears and pounding in his chest plagued him mercilessly, but no amount of deep breaths could quench it. Not this time.

Instead he was driven to reach out and feel if their face was as smooth and soft as their hands had been. Listening to that deep seeded intuition, he lifted his hand and held it out, his fingers but an inch from the wide eyes in front of him. The nervous twitch of the person in front of him made his hand recoil back to his side.

There was a pregnant pause where the two regarded each other. A feeling of warmth curled inside his chest, and he felt the corners of his lips upturn slightly. A curious sensation.

The staring contest was broken when a call similar to one of the large colorful birds that dwelled in his forest sounded, causing the other person to look up and to the south, away from his home. Looking in the same direction, his red eyes noticing smoke billowing above the treeline. When he turned back, his once prey was running in the direction of the call.

"AH!" He bellowed after them, taking a few steps in that direction. There was so much he wanted to know, a sinking feeling in his chest had his hand reaching out to them with longing. What was this?

The other ran clear up to the tree line before looking back at the dark haired nomad still standing in the field of poppies. They turned and disappeared out of his territory as silently as they'd come leaving behind confusion.

Without a thought, he followed the curious human scent right to the edge of his territory. Instinctually he knew it wasn't a good practice to enter another male's territory, but the sweet fruit and earth smell of them was intoxicating, luring him past his marked lines and into the other's. The border line didn't smell of that human he'd just met... which could only mean...

Female. They were female. That's why she could enter the territory so freely- she belonged to the male who claimed the woods at his border. What kind of heard leader allowed his female to run off alone into another's territory? She could have been killed. An uncomfortable weight settled on his chest at the thought, making him press onward deeper into danger.

It didn't take long to find the edge of the dwellings and the hunter was careful to remain down wind. There were a handful of others milling around doing various tasks between the odd straw like nests. He spotted the woman he'd met at the edge of them entering a smaller, less stable looking dwelling. She was scrawny by comparison to the others, looking frail and malnourished. He couldn't risk getting any closer until nightfall when the cover of darkness allowed him to move more freely.

So he waited patiently, just as he had earlier when stalking his meal. He watched what looked like other women coming and going, moving water, bringing food into all houses but hers, which he found curious.

What, then, was the point of living together?

Finally darkness crept over his jagged features, and he carefully peaked into the disheveled nest. The tiny woman was shivering in the dirt, her face buried in a ragged pelt. The noise of a hungry stomach reached his ears, and even in sleep the woman clutched her painful abdomen. How long had it been since she'd eaten?

Something like longing... and pity hit him. What kind of male would let his female suffer like this? It wasn't the way of his woods. It was the man's job to go hungry if they only caught enough for one. Then it hit him:

He was leaving her to die.

The dark haired man's eyes widened as he crept into the small dwelling.

He'd seen it before, in primates. A weak member not being cared for until it eventually grew ill and died.

Resolved to do something, the man carefully picked the woman up off the floor and was stunned when she immediately swung her arms around him, attracted to his naturally warm body. His cheeks burned for a moment, then he adjusted her in his arms so she could continue holding him more comfortably and stole into the night, his heart beating in time with hers.

If the male didn't like it, let him come. He would destroy such an uncaring bastard.

The hunter grew less nervous when he met the safety of his territory, the dew-wet and lightly sticky bulbs of closed poppies lapped at his knees. Each step back to his place of rest had him growing comfortable with the blurry lul she put in his senses. All was warm, all hazy and mixed up… but oh… so right.

So perfect. So her.

When he finally reached his home, he was exhausted from not having eaten and having seen such excitement that day. The brook greeted him, trickling its story of the forest's events and continuing to drone its soul song to all still awake to listen. He cradled her body against his and slowly eased them onto his bedding. The blue haired waif refused to let go, her grip set firmly around his neck. Oddly enough, he didn't seem to mind. He laid down on top of her, his chin resting in the crook of her neck and his forearms bracing his weight from her.

He marveled at how small she was next to him; Precious, even. She'd shown so much fight and enginuity when he'd come at her that morning. He had to admit he was impressed. How long could he keep her here? Would she be angry that he'd moved her?

After a meal or two, maybe she could learn to trust him. Maybe she'd stay.

The scent of her enveloped him, so different from anything else; it warmed his whole being, making him even more drowsy. A deep dreamless sleep awaited him; a calm, perfect nothing enveloping his mind as he nuzzled subconsciously deeper into her hair. The moon shone bright against its glittering backdrop, the only observer of their hearts beating side by side.


	16. Flooding Me

**_* CONTENT WARNINGS AHEAD*_** ** _This is hands down the most upsetting chapter ive had to write. i knew it was coming and i honestly dragged my feet on it. There is graphic sexual content in this chapter, so if you are under 18, i will place stars around the section you can skip. It will not effect the story for you whatsoever._** ** _There is a bit of violence and angst toward the end. Its real heavy guys, at least it was for me while writing it. gave me a fair bit of anxiety. so please take your time with it and process. ive read much worse from other fics on here, but still id like for you all to have that prepared mindset._**

 ** _i dont own fairy tail._**

 **Chapter 15: Flooding Me**

Levy woke the next morning to light shining in her face. Mumbling, she repositioned only to have another light hit her ten minutes later. She rubbed her eyes with her knuckles and slowly peered out between her fingers. It took a moment for the gravity of her situation to sink in.

Where was she?

At first, she thought she was dreaming. The colorful lights that spilled across her body and the floor giving her a sense of wonder instead of alarm. The cave she sat comfortably in among soft furs was expertly carved, with irregular red rust stains scattered across some of the walls.

The tiny woman couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so well. Normally the cold would keep her fading in and out of rest until dawn, but the night had been unusually kind to her. Maybe she'd finally died in her sleep, and this was some beautiful heaven she'd enjoy for eternity.

The thought pleased her enough that she stretched lazily and pulled the pelt up around herself, smiling contentedly.

Watching her stir and slowly accept her new surroundings from the brook side at the mouth of the cave, he smiled with hope. Maybe she wouldn't be so angry after all.

Turning back to his task, the raven haired man struck out with his spear, coming away with two riggling fish. The meal had to seal the deal, so he was pulling out all the stops. If the woman knew he could provide for her and well, she would feel more compelled to stay. Then he could figure out all these curious feelings she gave him.

After preparations were complete, he walked into his home. Unexpectedly, he felt something akin to fear in his chest. How could someone so small make his mighty body shake so??

Finally resolved in his decision, he gently shook her shoulder and watched her brown eyes slowly meet his. Suddenly alarm spread through her and she pressed herself against the corner of the cave above his bedding.

"Oh no!" Levy panicked, her chest heaving, "I'm so sorry!! How did I get here?! I uh...eh??"

The man tried to smile as if nothing was amiss, holding out a single red poppy flower toward her. Maybe he was too intimidating a figure to not cause shock and alarm first thing in the morning.

Hesitating and not taking her eyes off of his strong body, she finally took the flower by the stem. "For me?? Why would..."

The man held out a hand, palm up. There was a part of her, however small, that still saw the distorted monster in him that had nearly ended her yesterday. Fear shook her, but she sank to her knees in the soft furs.

"F-fuh...fuhmbeeee?" A gravely, deep voice attempted to imitate her words and inflection. Levy's eyes shot up to his in surprise.

"You DO speak!" She thought out loud.

"OoOea!" He growled.

His voice seemed surprised just as hers had.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" The blunette prompted, cocking her head to the side.

He too bent his neck sideways, a mix of concentration and uncertainty. "Eb say-ee?" Carefully he grabbed her wrist and tugged her to her feet, leading them out into the mid morning sunlight. His scarred hands were rough and calloused but gentle, pulling her to a log in front of the stream.

Letting go of Levy's hand, he pushed on her shoulders, prompting her to sit down before wandering off. She couldn't help but giggle at how demanding the curious nomad was. The dark haired man bent and picked up a thin, flat stone and carried it over to her.

Sitting beside his guest on the log, he presented her with a wide variety of foods. Fish, berries, wild herbs and vegetables were artfully arranged with care before them. Not knowing what she'd like, he'd foraged a bit more specifically this morning for the two of them.

The sight was overwhelming for the malnourished human. She'd never seen so much food in one place before, and her stomach groaned it's impatience. Still, she wasn't sure she was permitted to eat, as her tribe had generally frowned upon her sharing any of their food.

To his shock, she looked up at him, her sad eyes bleak. Did she not know how to eat? How had she lived this long??

He took a piece of fish between his fingers and tangled a string of thyme around it. This was his favorite way to eat trout, and he hoped she would accept it. Bringing the bundle to her lips, he stared at her expectantly.

As quick as a flash the morsel was gone and Levy was already in heaven. What WAS that he added to the fish? It was DIVINE. She looked down at the rest of the food and then back up at him. 'Could I have more??' Her hungry eyes seemed to say.

Sliding the plate into her lap, his normally dark features became sunny. The blue haired human's appetite was healthy, and she even growled at him when he went to grab a piece from the plate for himself.

"GIHEE!" He laughed and grabbed what he wanted anyway. Too big for her britches, that one. Or had she forgotten who was Alpha in these woods? When she did it again, he postured himself to loom over her, his body saying , 'I didn't have to share with you, short stuff.' He snorted when she lowered her head, ashamed at her instinctual reaction.

There was a memory deep down of his mother rubbing his back when he too made mistakes. Maybe it'd make her feel better. Grabbing a few berries to put in his mouth, he rubbed her upper back and shoulders, grinning down at her with red juice staining his teeth.

Levy had never felt this sort of affection, not since she was young. It had her closing her eyes between her hungry bites. "...That... feels good." She crooned, visibly relaxing under his hand.

"Beevsgudd." he said, trying to mimic the curious inflection she used. He had to admit it was a little frustrating not being able to communicate with her or even know what she was saying. The way her voice lifted or lowered seemed significant. However, the way her eyes closed and she leaned into his hand led him to believe she was enjoying herself.

Levy's cheeks flushed when his arm slid around her back and the wild man pulled her close. His nose brushed against the back of her ear, sending hot air from his nostrils down her throat. He rubbed his face against her hair, nuzzling into her scent and leaving traces of his own. The mixture of the two together made him sigh against her flesh, a throaty animalistic purr that vibrated against her.

The empty stone fell from her knees. Levy needed to reach out and touch him; the fire he was lighting in her was foreign, but she felt in her bones the only way to put it out was by being closer. She slowly turned her head to face him, his nose inches from hers and rested her forehead against his, their gaze borring into one another's.

"You have pretty eyes." Levy breathed, admiring the rubies that glittered back at her, swallowing butterflies and caressing his chin with her knuckles.

"It's unfortunate you can't understand me... you've been so kind, " She paused, face lowering sadly, "...I haven't really done anything to deserve it."

Oh this touch was different; it made his nostrils flare out and his face burn. Excitement simmered low in his belly and yet, her eyes faded from his to the ground, her body shrinking away. Why was she receding from him now? He didn't want her to move away, his beating heart demanded he close the distance between them and hold her, never letting go if it meant she'd otherwise slip away.

Maybe a little more forcefully than he meant to ( she was quite light ), he grabbed and placed the tiny woman in his lap his whole body itching to cover hers. Struggling only for the time it took her to realize no ill intent was meant, Levy's eyes began to leak, soft sniffles hiccuping through her and shaking her whole frame.

When had she become so damaged? Every day was the same, and she took each step she needed to survive . Somehow as the years had gone by among others but seemingly alone in her struggles, there had grown tender wounds on her heart that ached painfully if she only stopped to notice it. Her hands worried her chest, fidgeting and trying to numb the chasm inside.

All of this was very worrying for the naiive male. Something was very wrong and yet she made no attempt to flea, leading him to the conclusion that whatever bothered her hadn't been his doing. Just in case, he gave her room, not holding on quite so desperately so she could move should she choose.

To his delight she pulled his arms around her more tightly again, and he gladly shifted her back flat against his strong chest. A hand that spanned almost her whole chest rested where her hands had been squirming. The pain there was palpable, he could smell it in her tears and feel it in the way she sobbed harder when his hand fell there. It was making his breathing grow labored with the anxiety of his new friend being hurt with nothing he could do to stop it.

He inhaled deeply, and sighed out the air, his own wet eyes pressed into her silky blue locks. A physical problem he could help with, but this was beyond him. After a few minutes of trying to get ahold of himself, he noticed she was mirroring his slow, steady breaths. It was magical, just like everything else about her. Breathing as one but not alone.

The sobs slowly fell quiet, and nature reawoke around them. The gentle prattling of his brook, the birds chirping in the trees above... they returned along with the evenness of Levy's breathing. What an amazing gift he'd bestowed upon her, and all without words. He'd understood enough to comfort her.

Lifting his hand from her chest, she laced her fingers in his and brushed her lips against his knuckles. The man watched her intently, the strange gesture fascinating him. The look she gave him afterwards, her eyes clouded with heavy lids. She smiled, and his heart thumped itself silly against his ribcage.

"I want you to know my name," She began, the quality of her voice was low,husky even, "...it's Levy."

"Etsefy." He said, interested in whatever information she was trying to pass on with such a new tone. It made his mouth dry and his palms sweat.

"Levy." She corrected, pointing to herself.

"L-Leb-UULLebby." The 'L' sound came out as a flipped 'r' or 'd' sound, his tongue working overtime in his mouth.

Levy smiled and nodded, pointing to herself again. "Levy."

The connection hit him, his jaw going slack with new understanding. This was what she was called. This was a name he could give her. He squeezed her hand, still laced in his own and beamed. He took a finger and poked her nose playfully, "uulebvy." He repeated, tasting the curious combination of sounds on his tongue.

When she giggled and pulled herself back against his chest again, he sighed again. "Hmmmm...Lebvy...Levy..."

She poked him on the nose and stared for a response. When he only looked back at her, she poked her own nose and said her name once more before poking his again.

The man had no idea what he was called. No one bad ever called him anything. He frowned and sighed in frustration.

No name, huh? Well she couldn't very well keep saying 'hey tall, dark and handsome' to him while she taught him to speak. She smiled, recognizing the fact that she had subconsciously committed to being around him long enough to communicate.

The blunette's eyes narrowed thoughtfully; he needed a strong, sturdy name...there was a large canyon at the edge of the pack she'd grown up in. It was perilous and vast, yet beautiful in its simplicity when you respected the fact that you very well could die trying to climb down to cross it. Their tribe called it Gacheer Canyon, after their first mighty leader.

Levy pointed to him, "Gacheer!" She smiled.

He pointed at himself, "Gaj-jjeeel.." he knew it wasn't quite right and focussed, trying desperately to make the "ch" and "r" sounds. "Gaaajeelll...Gajeeeel..." he huffed and gave her an irritated pouty grimace.

She just laughed, then smiled and pointed to his heart. "Gajeel. I like that... it sounds like you. Gajeel."

He was overcome with emotion. He had a name. He knew her name. Gajeel wanted to know more about her and where she had been to become who she was. The way Levy smiled took his breath away, and he found himself wondering if he could ever do the same for her.

Bending down, he rested his chin and mouth against her hand. Had this been what she'd done? No, it wasn't... damn how had she...

Levy turned herself to straddle his hips in his arms and showed him a kiss once more on his wrist.

*18 ONLY*

The heat of her core against him was making his brain stutter, his breath shallow and a deep instinct was beginning to build within him. Slowly he tried again, his dilated pupils watching all of her when he pursed his lips against her silky wrist and created the light suction of his first successful kiss.

A new, wonderful scent hit him, warm and tangy like the sweet summer fruit in his forest, just off the vine. It built the most painful erection he'd ever had, the blood straining for relief against his flesh. Levy's body and it's satin skin felt rapturous against his, but he needed her closer.

"Levy..." he moaned, unsure exactly what he needed, he grabbed hold of her and held her more tightly, his whole body flexing against hers. The sensation of his shaft meeting the velvety, wet hot undercarriage of her made him gasp and he looked down at her. How incredible; another sensation he'd never known existed.

"Gajeel." His name tasted as sweet as his body felt against her. When Levy felt his groin awaken and sit between her folds, she nearly cried out with want. Cheeks flushed, she ground her hips into him, groaning at the delicious feeling. Her delicate fingers circled his face, the befuddled but lustful look he gave her spurring her on to lock her heels against his sturdy buttox and kiss his chapped lips. The taste of him was earthy, like the smell of freshly dug clay. It mixed with his natural musk and made her weep with slick heat between her thighs.

Gajeel thought he might explode. The last of his patient learning falling away to buck blindly against her. Her mouth on his felt so right.

They continued this way until their wild gyrating became so frenzied and irregular that he accidently speared between her folds, cleaving his mind in two. Gajeel paused only because the sensation made her cry out, her eyes clenched shut and her breathing ragged. Even if this felt amazing to him, he didn't want to hurt her, so he began to slowly back out of her when she stopped him with her heels.

The rhythm of her wild heartbeat pulsed around him, making him feel desperate, but when she slowly sheathed him completely his eyes fell back in his skull. "Mmmmm... Levy..!" he growled into her mouth, his blunt teeth nipping her bottom lip. Trembling hands held her close, afraid to move for fear of hurting her but so insane with the need to thrust over and over again inside of her he could barely contain it.

The sharp pain of being unexpectedly filled by him had taken her breath away. Levy gave herself a moment to adjust, allowing herself to relax despite the ache of being stretched. Opening her eyes to meet his, she chanced an experimental rock against his body and groaned with excitement. She'd never felt so full, never so attended to.

Gajeel leaned forward and gently laid her in the springy soft grass beside the water, his body trembling and his wild eyes searching hers for understanding. He felt flushed, as if he'd run a ways in the bitter cold of winter, and his scorching body ached for all of her. To consume her and give of himself to, in turn, become an offering at the shrine of this glorious temple of woman.

"Gajeel," she gasped again, forcefully grinding her pelvis up into his groin and creating the most delicious of hot, itch-scratching pains that reminded her she yet lived. The aggressive furrow of her brow and scrape of nails down his back made him growl into her ear before he pierced it with his sharp canine.

Everything around them was fading into the background, his thrusts beginning to become so hard and difficult to control, it was all they could do to cling to each other. Finally deciding she was, indeed, alright with what was happening, Gajeel wrapped an arm around her back and hooked his hand in the crook of her shoulder, the other gaining leverage around the opposite hip. With the improved stability, he furiously rammed himself with all his might into her throbbing entrance, now so hot and slick, the difference in angle came easily and made her cry out.

His breath was ragged, his tongue and mouth sucking and tasting her pale flesh anywhere he could reach. It was when his breathy, growling moan echoed in her ear at point blank range that her body went rigid. Levy's back bowed and she screamed through he force of an orgasm quaking around his turgid length.

Breath and body itching and pulling tight at the anxious stuttering of the walls around him, Gajeel felt his whole body react, a tension building the tighter she became, and when she bit at his collar bone suddenly, the damn burst.

"Hnnn… NNNNFUUUCK!!!" The warrior ground between clenched teeth, pushing his seed deeply into her chasm. Thrusts so hard he heard her whimper but clutch him closer to her breast. He roared with the excess effort he tried to expend without hurting her.

*ALL AGES REJOIN*

The thumping of their hearts became the only movement between them. They laid heaving this way, listening to the brook and covered in their commingling sweat. Gajeel's forehead laid against hers, his fingers soothing the tension from her where they laid. He was getting her floral headband all wet, but couldn't find it in him to mind.

"Ain't that sweet?" A gravely, dark voice crowed from black fog swirling in the bushes.

Alarmed, the hunter quickly withdrew from her and crouched defensively over her body, her eyes stained with understanding and fear beneath him.

"Awww… are ya gunna protect yer little friend? How brave! I'm choked up with all yer sensitive fairy bullshit…" A wide, sharp grin pierced the blackness, glowing red eyes shining above.

"No…" she gasped, his shaking her head, climbing to her feet, she pressed her back against the red brick wall crossing the swelling creek that slowly began to flood around her feet. "P-please don't hurt them!"

"We won't let you touch Levy!!" A gaunt man with cowlicked dark hair growled, one eye already swollen and bruising. He was fully clothed, with curious packages slung across his breast and over his shoulders. His image flickered, his body at moments swelling, as if he suddenly weighed almost 200lbs more.

"Yeah!" He felt the strange tenor vocalization pop from his own mouth, his body struggling to get up as if his leg was injured.

'Of course,' he thought. 'He would want to incapacitate ME first, so I can't run for help. Damn… the bastard thought of everything!'

He shrugged from his brown, thigh-length jacket, the fur lining it was matted, caked with blood… HIS blood… his leg had a gash in it!

A frenzied laugh came from the dimly lit entrance to the alleyway. The street was still covered in grass, the water from the stone damn escaping into the gutters. The man's silhouette raised its clawed fingers, menacing even from a distance.

"Ya have guts, I'll give ya that much." He growled. "But I got orders, ya see. So how about we make this quick." There was nothing but cruelty in his tone, a darkness consuming all it touched around him.

The hunter caught a reflection of himself in a window and his breath caught.

His hair was orange!

"If you're going to come, do it!" Levy roared, suddenly feeling brave and reaching into her pocket, only to scramble from one side of her dress to the other, her determination fading prematurely.

"Looking for this??" The monster sneered, waving a pen in the lamp light with a muscular scarred arm. "Guess yer out of options, blue fairy."

"Shut up!" Jet barked, throwing his hand in front of his companion. "I SWEAR you won't TOUCH HER!"

Once again the man was laughing, stepping forward to reveal first, a Phantom Lord tattoo on his bicep, and then secondly, a face complete devoid of any features. The contour was present, but without eyes, nose or mouth, framed by a dark, beastly mane.

"Look, we're all adults here," the faceless man said, his dark clothing looking gray yellow in the lamp light. "An I need yer help ta send a message."

Quicker than the man beside Jet could see coming, the monster darted forward and sent a punch flying at his face. The speed mage sent a powerful kick forward. "Falcon Heavenward!" He shouted, his lame leg connecting hard into the man's side before the attack could damage his friend.

"Jet!" Levy cried, now being protected by a series of large, brightly-colored poppies sprouting from the cracks in the cobblestones around her. "Droy!!!"

The monster laughed and rubbed his side. "Is that it?" It threw it's head back, and it's mouth appeared, sharp teeth framed by a smile much too wide and wicked. He grabbed Jet by the scruff and sent him flying into the brick wall, his legs crumpling underneath the rest of him in a heap.

"NOOO!" Levy shrieked wile seeds spilled from Droy's hand as he tossed them in a wide arc. Green plants sprouting fists erupted all around the monster, pummeling him with all their might.

"I'm not sure you fairies understand who yer up against!" The man laughed, metal studs sprouting from his face as he head butted Droy, knocking him clean out.

The flowers around her wilted, crumbling without a magic source to help them thrive. The protective petals fell around her sandles, and she hunched into the corner, so alone… so-

"I can smell yer fear," the man growled, a sharp, Roman nose appearing in the center of the face, metal piercings framing the bridge. He advanced on the trembling girl, his frame blocking the only escape. "That's good. I may let you off eas-!"

Levy, once the man was close enough, tossed a fist full of the dirt unearthed by Droy's spell into his face.

"MY EYES! YOU BITCH!!" The man doubled over, rubbing at clenched lids, now completing the scrunched face. Levy kicked him hard in the groin, the breath shooting out of her attacker and his bow deepening. Using this opportunity, she kneed him in the bridge of the nose with a sickening crack and leaped over his shoulders, running as fast as her legs could carry her into the street.

The shopping district he'd chased them into was all but deserted; she'd need to try to make it back to the residential district in order for anyone to hear her and help. In the throws of full on panic, she realized she was running to the wrong end of town.

'That's good actually,' she thought, taking another side street. 'He wouldn't expect me to run away from civilization- I'll run the damn perimeter of the town if I have to!'

Ragged breathing caught her attention and she looked back for the source, seeing nothing but slamming sideways into a hard wall of cruel muscle. Levy fell with the force she collided, the stone street bruising her legs and backside.

"No…" She gasped, strong hands grabbing her shoulders and squeezing painfully.

"Dirty trick, blue fairy." The monster cooed, his irritated, soulless eyes fixed on hers. "I'm impressed, if not fully pissed off."

Levy was trembling even more now, her mind racing. Would she survive this? Were Jet and Droy alright?? Would this start a war between the guilds???

"Please…" she cried, her face long since wet with defeat. "Please don't do this!"

The monster faltered, ever so slightly. It wasn't something she would notice given the state of terror that overtook her… but the monster hesitated for a moment, his gleeful smile artificial, his knuckles releasing the slightest of fractions. The mage was so small. So pure and good… he could smell it on her.

She was all he was not.

She was all he could never be.

Suddenly, he wanted to take that from her, make her as ugly as he knew he was inside. Why should she have a family who loved her, who gave her the opportunity to be more than a mindless brute for hire? What made these fairies so special??

Gajeel Redfox roared into the night, nothing but a jealous and insignificant monster. Tears fell from his crimson eyes as he beat her. The punches were pulled, his slaps half-hearted and kicks lackluster. What right had he to feel this way? What made him think he could do something like this to one so much smaller than him that he had disarmed.

 _Dishonorable._

 _Despicable._

He stared, his eyes sore at a small thing, scared, sobbing astride two other figures hanging limp against the same tree. Levy raised her head as much as her sore neck would allow. "Why would you do this to me, Gajeel?"

His numb limbs were impossible to control, the dragon mourning, openly weeping. He couldn't see her like this again, not like this in the cold night. When he finally came before her, he raised his hand and caressed her face.

The action seemed peculiar, wrong, dirty. This was not the caress of comfort or care.

"Nothin' personal, blue fairy. It's just business- you understand." The words launching themselves from his numb lips terrified him. He tried to fight the memory his hands shaking as they drew that cursed symbol around her navel.

"..You'll always be nothing more than a monster." She glared down her nose at him, too hurt, too tired to raise her voice above a low growl, her eyes glossing over from the pain of his beating finally overtaking her mind.

"Levy…" he choked his muscles straining against the quivering shell of his body. "Levy… I'm so sorry…"

There was a disembodied breath that breathed down his neck.

"Why?" It asked.


	17. The Seed of Life

**_Hey all, I apologize for the long wait. I had a bit of writers block concerning the next few chapters and needed to do some heavy thinking on transitions before i got too far into things. Work has also picked up, so things have been pretty busy for me with lots of late evenings doing things that don't include writing. Rude, amirite??_** ** _I'll do my damndest to get the next chapter to you all as soon as possible. Thank you all for waiting patiently!!_**

 **Chapter 16 The Seed of Life**

Looking up at Levy's rag doll form splayed out against the tree in a mock crucifixion, he longed to take her down; to hold her and keep her safe from any more unpredictable visions. His arms felt as if they were made of lead, stiff and impossible to move as if he too were held immobile in shackles.

What _was_ all of this? Where the hell WAS he?? It felt like his skull was going to burst with confusion. At one moment he was in the real world with his wife, and the next he was somewhere else… SOMEONE else…

... _was any of it real?_

A nauseated quiver bounded from his gut all the way up into his jaws and they flapped anxiously ajar.

... _was...Levy... even his wife??_

"Why??" The voice questioned again, it's source unknown and it's quality genderless and neutral. Gajeel shivered and glanced around; the faceless words, were they here to haunt him too? That's how he felt… targeted, suspected.

A virus clinging to a darkened corner of a suspicious nervous system.

"I...I didn't mean it..." he choked, his eyes refocusing on the sweat and tears forming on her swelling bruises. Each cry she had made or defiant grit of her stare slashed at his mind, making him feel numb. He was half a person.

He really WAS A monster.

" **Wrong."** It replied, firm and hollow, the bleat of an oboe struck too violently with a purposeful breath. Sharp, imposing…unnatural.

"...I…" he began, his voice stuck in his throat. Her delicate feet were dirty, the ankles pushing against the ballet skippers she so loved, swelling with pain.

He thought it was a blessing she passed out when she did, his heart throbbing, weeping remorse.

 _"Why?!?"_ It queeried, now agitated, damning. Howling to be noticed.

Accusing.

Gajeel flinched away from the sharp question at the shell of his ear. The rancid, copper scented air rolled icy cold against his lobe; intimate as a lover and raising steady bile from his stomach.

A chilled sweat froze his whole being.

The wet suction sound of a mouth opening, lips parting and sliding against gums and teeth.

 ** _"WHY?!"_** The voice became distinctly masculine and roared at point blank, spit flying from the unseen maw onto his temple. The dragon hunched and held his tender, ringing head. He slowly opened his clenched eyes and stared down at his bare feet flexing against the blackness beneath them.

After a pause in which he took a moment to put himself back in that place in his life and hopefully placate whatever pursued him now, he answered. "I… was so angry…" he confided, his chest splitting open with the thoughts of his former self returning.

Silence.

Encouraged by not being yelled at, Gajeel swallowed thickly and continued, "...I never had nothin' good in me…" he cried helplessly, a mere wisp of himself, a pit of nothingness shaking despair into existence.

A solid blow hit him square in the chest and sent him tumbling backwards, something hard catching his fall but not before he skidded and bounced against it. His lungs cleared forcefully, needles raising within them.

 ** _"BULLSHIT!"_** an angry ethereal voice roared, a shift in the void sat on top of him so heavy it kept him from drawing in air. **_"TRY AGAIN."_**

Gajeel winced, feeling himself go numb. He couldn't speak, he couldn't breath and now, he thought he might actually die. The sensation was so distracting he could hardly feel the fear of being mauled by an impervious and invisible enemy.

His lungs were screaming in agony, pleading desperately to take in air. No matter how he thrashed, he was pinned, panicking. Sparks flashed in his vision.

He was _dying_.

 ** _"STOP FEELIN' SORRY FER YERSELF YA FUCKIN' MORON!"_** The shadow glowered down at him with white, all-seeing eyes opening inches from his purple face. **_"YA DISGRACE YERSELF AND SHORTY! I WON'T HAVE IT! NOW STOP WITH THE SAD-SACK MOPIN' AND TELL ME WHY!"_**

Enough of the weight shifted to keep his limbs secured but his chest free to move and he sucked hungrily at the air, his face relaxing in slow relief.

 ** _"WELL?"_** Gajeel's own voice questioned him once more.

It was so complicated… so hard to find the words to explain himself. Would the truth, should he find it, bring this monster peace??

Could he go home then? Back to where his life didn't feel so frayed and disconnected? So disjointed??

"There's… lots'a reasons…" he thought, trying to calm the ache in his chest at the mere thought of trying to put himself back into that place in his life again. The notion was unthinkable, and he physically drew into himself, fearful of what he may find there waiting. "...I wasn't myself."

 _"Oh?"_ The shade quivered, the imperceivable dimensions of the weight on him shifting into parted blue hair. The wrinkled, aged face of the man he had sent to prison submerged into visibility with wide eyes focussed and beaming with wisdom. "A victim now?? Tell me, son, do you truly believe yourself to be a separate person from the man that nearly killed a woman all those years ago??"

Shame marred Gajeel's face; a stain that would never quite run clean no matter how he scrubbed. It was there every day of his life, every day he looked at her… looked at Bunny… hell, looked at _any_ member of Fairy Tail. "No." He decided after a lengthy silence, his voice tired and dreary in the infinite darkness swallowing his senses.

"But I ain't the same now."

The old man twisted his head skeptically. "Perhaps." He conceded, reverting into a starless night, it's voice changing again to the deep rumbling cadence of his father.

" ** _But you still have that ugly look on your face."_**

Numbness was all that greeted him; the grim reminder of his mistakes grinding against his tender flesh until all that remained was the husk.

"She taught me so much." He whimpered, his breath laden with the ash of his truth and tasting bitter on his tongue. "...I needed ta make that mistake… but I'm sorry it was her."

A chortle rang out around him. _"Funny,"_ Levy's voice rang out in the dark, origin unknown but always sounding near on the wind carrying her to him. _"...a reasonable answer coming from one yet to forgive themself."_

The weight lifted from him, his eyes staring blindly into a smothering noir. _"How can I?"_ he asked, his chest concaving sharply with the absurdity of the idea. He shuddered. "How can I begin ta feel good about myself _after all I did??"_ The question cracked open another sore place behind his mountainous facade, one he had picked and picked at but never acknowledged; his breath hitched slightly at the pain his heart couldn't beat without. " _Ain't it good enough I keep 'er safe? Ain't it good enough that I'll never, ever make 'er feel fear on account'a me??"_

 _"Is it?"_ Softer lips breathed into his ear.

Taunting.

Mocking his pain; The pain he felt from what he'd put her through.

There was raw anger bubbling in his veins, tainting his shame and giving it a sharp, punctuating fizz.

"That's all I can do now. It _has_ ta be enough."

 _"Hmm…"_ Levy's voice wondered skeptically out loud. _"Shall we see how your tree has grown, dragonkin?"_

Another pillar of hot steel pierced his veins and he growled a warning into the void. **_"Stop usin' her voice."_**

A tongue clicked and the elderly man appeared in his entirety, his simple earthen shoes carrying him toward the slayer, each step becoming a catalyst for tiny bricks of white to create a sort of complex mosaic floor. As each piece stabilized next to another, the cracks would disappear and become one solid bit of floor. Gajeel's dragon scenes tingled as if feeling the air pressure change with each constructed tile.

"Come." The elder snapped, leaving no room for argument as he brushed past the slayer's side as if he was in his way in a corridor. The spreading floor changed angles sharply and became clinical walls, and he realized he had been in the way after all. Staring at the man's deep gray-covered back, Gajeel hesitated.

Why should he follow this dickbag anyway? Even if it hadn't been real, he couldn't shake the image of that wicked face he had come to associate with Levy's coma. It was an expression wrapped in cruel and blatant disregard for the pain of others.

"That wasn't real." The man called down the hallway that had stretched further during Gajeel's preoccupation with indecisiveness. "Come or be lost in the labyrinth of white."

Gritting his teeth, he reluctantly followed, not noticing his steps began to slowly break apart the image of the hall he traveled.

 _The attack never happened._

Did that mean they had never gone on that trip to begin with?

Was Levy really alright??

The hair stood on his nape when he met the man beside a simple doorway, his cold eyes judging him.

 _Was Levy even his wife???'_ He thought again, glaring at the man he had seen attack her.

"No. She's not." The elder supplied, impatiently pushing through the door and into a wide, blank room with seemingly no walls or ceiling. There was, however, a granite platform forty steps in.

If it weren't for the echo of truth Gajeel felt at his words, he wasn't sure he would have believed it. A deep sense of loss enveloped his heart, making him draw a breath desperately attempting to cope.

Just inside the door, Gajeel held his ground, body taught and humming with the confused jumble of emotions he felt slave to for… _how long?_ _How long had he been here? Been subjected to this chaos and questioning everything?_

 _"What is all this?"_ he growled, unwilling to take another step until he found an answer that gave him a sense of… _anything._

The petite man stepped onto the smooth rock and turned, his posture severe and uniform.

"I would think," he swung one of his locks from his forehead, almost bored with the dragon's ignorance, "...that one of the mightiest mages in Earthland could have concluded what many lesser humans have."

Gajeel shook. He'd had enough, and it was time he had some fucking answers now. He lumbered forward, his feet slapping the tile beneath him until he was within ten feet of this self-righteous prick who couldn't seem to stop fucking with him.

"You're _dead,_ dragonkin."

That certainly sent his gate into a slow stop, just before the granite alter.

His mind was blank. He couldn't think. Well, he could, but the assault that came whenever he tried to work the concept out was so overwhelming, his mind just sort of stopped.

 _"Dead…"_ he repeated, looking up into the cool slate-colored eyes that observed him critically.

Not a question but a statement.

 _"What…?"_ his heart was suddenly beginning to pound, his expression weary with work.

"Dead." The man confirmed, turning to attend to a narrow pillar just behind him. "You _have_ been for some time. I apologize for any necessary discomfort you may have been subjected to whilst I have been evaluating you."

Gajeel wasn't sure what to say to that. His chest was still hammering in his ears, bis watchful crimson eyes burning. He reached up and absently laid his head in his palms, gaze falling to the floor.

 _'I'm dead…?"_ he whimpered, still unable to fully grasp it. He sifted his fingers through his hair, half expecting it to feel foreign.

"This, is the Seed of Life." The elder interrupted, turning and holding out his fist. A warm glimmer escaped when his hand uncurled.

The Seed of Life? The dragon stared at the way the old man's palm shown, the tail of a thought illuding him around every corner. He thought Levy had said something about it earlier, but he was so twisted up; he could hardly remember where or when. Or, for that matter, what she said at all.

An unremarkable lump resembling an acorn sat in the crags of his wrinkled palm. "The Seed encompasses all that has been, is and will become. Tell me, Dragonkin," His eyes left the slayer in favor of a loving stare into the cosmic root of all, "...How has your tree grown?"

Gajeel didn't have an answer for that, his mind having gone blank despite his trying to answer the question. What kind of answer was this guy looking for? What was correct??

 _And what was true?_

He had yet to shake his distrust of the situation.

The dragon's lacking response didn't seem to phase the old man who raised his head to observe him further; saying nothing of the lacking trust he could likely hear. "It grew," he began, a hint of something unkind in the upturn of his lips, "...from the roots of woman and man. A _whore_ and her client of high society bound one night by fate and forever severed."

Gajeel's eyes widened, feeling as though he had been socked in the gut. He closed his mouth he hadn't realized had creaked ajar.

The man continued unflinchingly with cold eyes, "The soil around the roots could not support their union. A child was born on the first of October, it's barer _still_ and anointed in her crimson life's force. _Luckily_ ," he paused to turn his chin and stare down his button nose at Gajeel, his grin sharkish. _"...this one was tenacious."_

Gajeel's eyes fell to his hands, his scarred, seemingly hungry hands. He didn't want to believe it; he didn't want to acknowledge the spear in the center of his chest, creating the most painful despair he had yet to feel. Deep down, he had suspected his parents to have been many things, any level of person.

But to hear that his mother, the one piece of his life he had grown without, had succumbed to what he was convinced had been the absolute _gore_ of his birth…

His vision clouded wetly.

His very existence… _had he done anything worth doing in his life?_ Anything worth a _damn_ to _anyone_ but these starved hands that demanded so much…?

"So the child grew." the elder continued ignoring Gajeel's tears as they fell into his shaking hands, walking around a stone pit filled with earth the dragon hadn't noticed "He grew _thorns_. Grew scars and metal bark attempting to survive in an admittedly cruel world for an orphan raised jointly to the age of six by a _brothel_." The man tasted that last word with scorn and the dragon didn't have to look up to know his mouth was working over the words as if they were made of raw sewage.

 _'Fuck',_ he thought, _'I truly am a revolting monster.'_

"Then, on a sunny morning, he grew wings." The elder said, his voice becoming light, halting before the soil that stood between them on top the marble alter. "Wings that would elevate that hard exterior and give it shape. A mentor, a guide… a _father_ saw fit to take in the wretched bastard for his own."

 _'Metalicana',_ Gajeel thought, images of a proud metal muzzle swam in his mind. Everything the man was saying… was it...

" **Truth** ," the man interrupted the stray thoughts he'd had. "Yes, make no mistake Gajeel Redfox. I have known you since the beginning, and I will yet know you now."

 _What the hell was all this??_

"Judgement, some would call it." The man's voice became sharp but soft, the soft glint of sewing needles in candle light. "The weighing of the soul, others. A review, a hearing, a… **conclusion**." This word, was growled in a vaguely satisfied, almost sexual way.

The way a murder _salivates_ at the sight of foreseen bloodshed.

No, Gajeel did not like this man one bit.

But perhaps this was all the welcome he deserved here in this place that seemed so… holy and sacred.

"Whatever way in which you'd like to see it, I care not." His tone seemed to confirm this statement. "Now, if there are no more questions," he continued, bored if not irritated when the dragon's face screwed up in a way that boasted MANY questions, "...We can begin."

He tipped his hand and let the seed tumble to the loose earth, the sound soft and familiar.

"Now then, who speaks for this man?"


	18. Judgement

_Because Ettie4Happie made a review that made my day better recently, here you are. HOLD ON TO YA BUTTS!_

*

 **Chapter 17 Judgement**

"Now then, who speaks for this man?"

The question rang out for a moment into the joining silence making Gajeel's ears ring. The deafening query, followed immediately by that hollow, empty noise made him shift nervously.

"I." Came a stout male voice from behind the dragon, making his head swing. It was as if, from the blank nothingness, a dark silhouette appeared. Blinding flashes of light made it blend into the white around it occasionally as if it were a nearly man-shaped portal viewing a storm.

"Name." The old man drawled, his eyes now interested, focussed on the apparition.

The silhouette approached Gajeel's side and halted. The dizzying bruised clouds within the shape seemed to almost define the musculature of a man at intervals, and others to float into dark azure obscurity.

"Laxus Dreyer." It said, voice strong and familiar, accompanied by the rolling sound of thunder. It made the words sink into Gajeel's skin and his hair raised. He took in the scent of ozone and heavy rain skeptically.

The iron dragon faced the outline fully. Was this really Laxus??

The profile shifted and two golden sits appeared in the face to stare him down. They were blank beyond their color, yet the shape could almost resemble the elegant elongation and thick-lashed eyes of the lightning dragon slayer himself.

'Creepy.' Gajeel thought, narrowing his eyes right back, careful to not look away from the challenging gaze.

"How has his tree grown?" The elder interrupted, taking a small book from his pocket to make a few notes.

Laxus' face turned after a moment or so of observing the raven-haired man. "His tree has grown humble where once there was avarice and pride." The thunderclap answered, the gold eyes almost seeming to smile. "Even though he still can't throw a punch."

The iron dragon bristled. The FUCK he couldn't!

"HEY!" Gajeel growled, presenting a fist fearlessly to the storm, "That's it! Let's go, Lightsocket!!" There was something almost resembling relief that washed over him, taking him back to his home in Magnolia Town for just a moment. Yet that brief feeling spread like an elixir in his limbs and heart, making everything he had been through seem a little less heavy.

"That will do." The smallest man grumbled, turning to scold the dark slayer. "Please refrain from speaking, Gajeel Redfox, we have a lot to cover and I have more to do than listen to petty arguments."

Laxus let go one of his signature laughs, the sound terribly loud with the accompanying tempest. "Maybe in the next life, Metal-head. I'll be waiting."

The silhouette faded back into nothingness, but it's presence remained in the form of a comforting warmth spreading in his limbs. The dragon couldn't help the smile that reached his lips. An unexpected vote of confidence from a man he could now call his dragon brother in arms?? It was truly one of those feelings Gajeel had never known to exist beyond Lily.

But he supposed that it was true, no matter what sort of reluctance he may feel about it. His heart, curiously enough for a dead person, beat in his chest and he felt alive; alive and thriving. Any comfort after what he'd gone through was welcome.

"Who speaks for this man?" The man repeated, swinging his legs like a toddler where he sat on the edge of the snowy granite pit, still scribbling away into his tattered leather note. 'Bored' seemed to define his expression.

"I speak." A metalic female voice this time to his right. Slowly a crimson suit of armor stepped from nothingness, it's metal moving soundlessly.

"Name." The man prompted without looking up.

"Erza Scarlet." The armor rang, turning it's pointed helm in Gajeel's direction. The inside seemed hollow in the eyes, as if it were walking around on its own. A queer sight.

Queerer yet: Erza of all people wanted to speak on his behalf?

"Ah, Miss Scarlet, good to have you. How has his tree twisted?" The man actually smiled, the grin normal if not shallow compared to the elongated monstrous grin he'd come to associate with him.

"With valor, loyalty and mercy." She stated simply, turning to leave but patting his shoulder heavily as she did. "I would proudly fight with you again, my friend." The shimmering of metal faded into white, leaving him alone once more with the elder.

He guessed they were friends after all? Sure, they were nakama… but to hear such a genuine timber to the robust Titania's voice shook him, keeping a nervous and nearly shy smile on his face.

Did they really feel that way?

"Who speaks for this man?"

"I do!" A small female voice piped up. His sister's voice! Wendy!?? His eyes searched the unending white.

A windy whisper touched his arm and he swung after it, his mouth opening in a toothy grin. "Sis??"

"I!" The booming bass of his best friend, a large, black tom cat that bounded into his arms unexpectedly.

"Lily!??" He croaked, feeling the feline purr and rub it's cheek against his trembling chin. He choked on a sob and had to restrain himself from squeezing the ball of fur too tightly.

"I will speak for Gajeel!" That dangerously misleading and sickly sweet she-devil's cadence came from behind a swirling, roaring flame that flared beside him. "I'm all fired up now!" The idiot made of flames interuptes from amidst the growing chaos of voices and confusing manifestations.

"Aye si- Natsu!!! Let go! YOU'RE SQUISHING ME!" Squeeked a very ruffled looking blue dragon the size of a bear now being crammed between the fiery arms of his partner.

"Happy! It's really you! How are ya, buddy!!?

"Oui!" A canvas with paint that swirled in different colors over it quipped beside an orderly arrangement of well-kept books glittering with lit runes.

Voices began popping up here and here, different entities appearing and crowding over one another. The dragon couldn't help but to feel overwhelmed, tears welling in his eyes at the support he felt.

This was his family.

This was Fairy Tail.

"Not all at once!" The elder tried to shout over the noise. "There is a procedure that needs to be followed here!!"

"Screw your procedure!" Cana bellowed drunkenly, looking incredibly normal for all intents and purposes from where she sat piggy-back on a giant black-filled stick figure.

"Yeah!" The figure said, holding her up while she took a swig of a bottle the size of a small automobile. "I dunno what you expected, old man, You're judging a Fairy Tail wizard!" It laughed heartily before a giant pink tongue lolled from its open mouth.

"SILENCE!" The elder roared over the crowd, finally making them still when the foundation of everything shook. The severity of his reprimand would have made Gajeel pale before, but not now. Not here with the people he loved.

He looked down at the deep green eyes of the cat in his arms, seeing the pale pink scar over its almost smiling expression. It WAS love. He loved his guild and everyone in it.

Grudgingly at times, he allowed, noticing a reluctant looking sunflower and cheetah gawk at him. He definitely deserved that appraisal in their eyes in particular.

"This is ASININE." The elder growled, stamping his foot against the echoing marble."Every time I have to deal with one of you Fairy Tail mages, you treat this VERY SERIOUS matter like some sort of frat party! I will not have it!!" There was a prominent vein throbbing on his forehead as he drew another breath to compose himself.

"Why is he so grumpy?" The delicate gust of his sister in the arms of a silver-haired school girl with cat ears asked a wild collection of stars swirling around a palm-sized planet.

The constellations sort of shrugged… if a collection of lights could shrug of all things. "Beats me." Came a confident feminine reply.

"I take it no one is here with the express purpose of speaking unfavorably of Gajeel Redfox?" The man drawled, rubbing his painful temple smooth again.

The dragon's eyes moved nervously back to the plant and wild cat, almost crying out in relief when they remained silent.

Brilliant flames crackled around the neck of a very tired looking blue dragon, a green fairy flitted between the hands of an extremely manly looking monster, horns drawing back from its head, but none said a word. Everyone smiled in their own way to each other.

A rush of hands and paws and… well… hand-like APPENDAGES touched him playfully; poking his ribs, messing up his hair, hugging him around the middle.

It was TOO MUCH. Tears fell in the dark fur in his arms and he felt such relief, such safety and warmth here. It felt like forever since he had felt this good.

Until one defiant voice spoke.

"I speak so."

Gajeel stiffened, his weeping eyes blowing wide and a surge of guilt, shame, fear and heartbreak stabbed every last bit of those good feelings into nothing but meaningless pulp.

The voice that was so familiar and it was damning to hear them utter such a cold phrase. It was so… wrong...

"Hmm… Name??" The judge's smile returned a little sharper than before, making the dragon even more uneasy.

But even more concerning than this was the being that came forward. The word 'finger' made the shape of each gentle appendage from their hand, also thusly named. From there, was wrist, forearm, bicep, collarbone, neck, chest… and in the center of it all was the coldest words of them all.

Her name.

Gajeel had to catch himself from falling to his feet, feeling so low the floor may yet eat him until he fell through into the absolute HELL it was to crash back down into this impossibly low state.

If he weren't already dead… he thought me might very much like not to live anymore.

"My name is Levy McGarden." said an orange pair of the word 'Lips'.


	19. The Drought

_This insanity is brought to you by my brain. YOU THOUGHT THINGS GOT WEIRD LAST CHAPTER? Shit... prepare yourselves for_

 _BUM_ _BUM_ _BUUUUUMMMMMM..._

 _Some_ _M.Night Shyamalan shit._

 **Chapter 18: The Drought**

Gajeel Redfox was a desert.

There was nothing left inside and despite the obvious hollow in his chest, he couldn't feel a thing. For the first time, he noticed he had no heartbeat, and his body felt foreign in a new way.

No gentle rhythm in his chest.

No rush of breath, cooling his lungs.

No gentle ache of age or tension in his shoulders.

Nothing.

"Yes, Miss McGarden… please… tell me of the shadow his tree has cast." There was that twisted arousal to his voice that would have made him nauseous if he had a stomach. Gajeel felt like he was disappearing.

He thought that might be kinder than sticking around to know the words he knew so well come out with that beautiful voice.

"Gajeel Redfox is a monster." Two 'Eye's narrowed at him, but he couldn't see them through the watery vision he couldn't feel bothered to blink through. "There's nothing of value hidden away in that delinquent head of his; he is impossibly inhuman."

There was a tremble in her voice that wrapped around his throat and squeezed making his eyes fall shut. His chest quivered, and concave sharply, a sickening rasp of a sob forced its way out of his clenched jaws.

Everything he KNEW to be true in his heart but could never say, even to himself was laid bare before him. Gajeel couldn't escape the possibility that, perhaps Levy was too POLITE to normally say such things or hold a grudge with someone she'd have to work with.

Maybe there was nothing of value in him after all.

Instead of a desert, Gajeel slowly became an aching well; long forgotten, neglected, and absolutely fetid from stagnate muk. He was starving, and had no idea what he needed in order to come back to himself.

"Do you KNOW how many times you struck me that night, Gajeel?" Levy whispered, her voice nearing until he could smell her tart, delicious apple breath inches from his face. "Do you KNOW what bones you snapped on my fail body when you came for me??" An unkind, sickened tsk came incredulously from the woman he would always love.

"LOOK AT ME!" She screamed, giving him a weak shove against his shoulders that couldn't move him, only punctuating how much stronger he was than her.

'I'm a monster.' he whispered to himself. He couldn't look at her.

He considered the fact that he was a coward as well; just looking at Levy scared him.

"I know." She cooed, answering her own question and he flinched, squeezing his eyes shut trying desperately to feel SOMETHING. ANYTHING but this rotted away and stinking cavity he called his chest. "I counted to try to distract myself while you nearly killed me. I gave up on life by the time you hung me against that tree, Gajeel."

There was silence consuming him, all his guild mates had gone quiet and he attempted to squeeze the ball of fur in his arms in a last ditch effort to feel something.

A child clutching it's doll in discomfort.

But Lily had hopped from his grasp, he discovered, when his eyes opened, and was now glaring protectively in front of Levy's feet.

The lead weight of his arms was too much, and they fell at his sides. 'Not Lily

…' he inhaled shakily, reaching out longingly for the wide-eyed cat. 'Not my best friend too.'

A low, throaty feral yowl of warning came from the creatures chest and Gajeel recoiled.

"She's right, though." He heard his sister whisper behind him.

"It's sad," Lucy murmured back, sounding almost like she cupped her hand around her confession in Wendy's ear. "How could he do that to her?"

Two sharp knives stabbed him in the back, deep and cold parting his ample muscles. Gajeel fell to his knees under their weight, his nails scraping the sterile white tile beneath him.

"Pretty shitty thing to do," he heard Natsu gripe over the rise in discontent. "I never forgave you for what you did to Shadow Gear, you sick fuck."

"Aye." Happy voice agreed. "It was super mean of you to hurt poor Levy. She's so small!"

"Did he even apologize?" A critical, posh voice came from the school girl, cat ears flattened defensively.

"Please," Gajeel choked, his hands reaching for the tiny 'feet' in front of him. He had to ignore his guilds comments; each voice seemed to be undoing his mind thread by thread. "Please, Shorty…"

"My name is LEVY. You have no right to talk to me like you understand anything about me." Gajeel felt a hand knot in his hair and tug him upright. "Get on your feet, you pathetic excuse for a man."

He climbed to his feet, wobbling off balance from the pure hatred directed at him. "Levy… Levy I'm so sorry!"

"You're not sorry." Levy sneered, slapping his face. "A monster isn't capable of sorrow or regret!"

The dragon felt as though a thread had come unraveled in his chest. He looked down at his hands, and couldn't find fear at the sight of their transparency through the guilt he couldn't shake.

"You never deserved any of my attention! I felt sorry for you so I humored you on missions… but here in this holy place, you're nothing but a blemish."

He looked up, the fabric inside of him continuing to come undone and taking his feet and calves with it. "Levy…"

"No." She murmured, her teeth grit in anger and pain. The word left him a scrap of thinly woven cloth inside, and he was solely a disembodied, sorrow-ridden face. "Gajeel Redfox… I hate y-"

A sharp,curved iron blade slid through the name "Levy McGarden" with the sick, cutting noise of severing tissue. Gajeel yelped, his re-appearing hands reaching for the wound that gushed a putrid black liquid. Curiously, his heart pounded as he watched Levy go rigid, cough liquid darkness that dribbled down her 'lip' and 'chin' before the image shifted. A sallow, grizzled creature with dark voids for eyes and mouth took her place and collapsed to its knees.

It slumped at his returning bare feet and he backed away from the ghoulish mass, his eyes traveling up the bare legs to the silver haired woman who had saved him before. She wore a simple, silvery dress covered in tar-like splotches, and her whole frame shook, her eyes mad-wide with dark circles rimming them.

She was breathing heavily, hyperventilating with her eyes fixed on his. The hollow in her cheeks was more pronounced, and her shimmering hair was matted in spots without care.

"E-Emmaline!" The old man said, rushing forward with palms down but outstretched as if the ragged woman were a wild animal he was trying to calm enough to tame. "What are you do-?"

The restless woman swung the blade and pointed the dripping weapon at the elder's face. Gajeel could see the iron took the place of her hand to forearm, the metal trembling with her instability. "THATS NOT MY NAME!" She shrieked. Eyes widening, the small man took a step back, his hands up in surrender.

"Em-...Let's talk about this..." he tried to sooth her while the rest of the guild stared at them in shock.

Gajeel flinched when she laughed quietly and then became shaking and hysterical, her leer never faltering from the azure haired judge. Her breath finally gave out and she sucked in a long breath a levelness washing over her and bringing with it a composed, satisfied smirk.

"It's over." She growled, her teeth sharp and deep scales surfacing on her cheeks and chest. "It's all over. I will not submit to your will any longer." The sight was frightening, a murderous glint in her eye that he knew was an edge; an edge where anything could send her spiraling over it into bloodshed.

He'd never seen that look in someone's face before.

"Emmaline, see reason…" the judge quipped, obviously nervous.

"I SAID THAT'S NOT MY NAME!" The waif shrieked, stepping forward and forcing him backward. A few of the guild members took a step forward as well, their eyes transfixed and Gajeel forgotten.

"Now, now… let's not do anything rash!" The man on the receiving end of a cruel blade squeaked. He was sweating visibly, and the ends of his hair wobbled.

"CUT THE SHIT." She growled, her voice echoing unnaturally and black scales consuming her body. "THIS GAME OF YOURS IS OVER."

Confused, the slayer looked on as each word drew his guild mates toward the impending fight. What the fuck was all this?

"G-game??" he stammered, crawling backwards up onto the marble platform. "There's no g-"

She swiped at him, catching his grey robes and slicing a whole through it, revealing….

Nothing.

There was emptiness within the robes, only the reverse side of the cloth showing through. The woman swiped again and again, until he stood in the dirt pit he had tossed the Seed.

"There is, and I'm done playing, Bloodman."

Gajeel's eyes bugged.

Bloodman??

Where had he heard that name before?

The elder caught her razor edge and winced, black ooze flowing from the quivering hand that held it still. A cruel smile accompanied the dark laugh that shook his disintegrating robes, his face sucking into itself, until it was stretched flat to his skeleton. The bits and pieces of his flesh flowed like a sentient wind-blown flame, a deep, black core surrounded by an ambient putrid purple.

"Thou dares to challenge the god of death in his castle?" His pointed teeth snapped cruelly at the air, the poisonous magical barrier particles that made his body flickering with agitation.

The woman smirked back and Gajeel noticed Bloodman shrink in on himself ever so slightly.

"Who's castle??" There was a fury in her tone that made the slayer's hair stand on end. She had noticed the slight retreat and was building steam, gesturing with her other hand while she pressed in on the chest cavity of her mark. "Who's fucking castle is this, you vile stain!??" She spat, her eyes unblinking. "You took and took and took from me until there was a mere shred of myself left, and you thought a whisper couldn't stand on its own… but you know something, Bloodman??"

Her silver hair stood with the rush of pulsing magic visibly crawling her skin. Gajeel's magic. Dragon Slayer Second Origin vitality sharpening her hand into claw…. A claw with a delicate pearl bracelet wound loosely around her deceptively frail wrist.

Gajeel took a step forward, noticing his nakama had begun to look positively undead and were advancing on the woman as she bent forward and whispered into the void:

"You've underestimated my intellect, and it shall be your undoing."

That voice…

Her small, pear-shaped frame.

The dazzling light in those eyes that didn't reflect the age around them.

The bracelet he bought her on their second date.

Dark, dripping maws was creeping closer to her back.

The delicate, snow colored symbol on her shoulder blade.

Gajeel knew he could feel his heart now, he knew he was still alive, and his entire being was practically bursting with jagged, forward love. His body felt whole where he hadn't in so long, and he was breathless, for he was a fool and she was all he remembered her to be.

No, she was more, and he was so stupid for not having seen it before.

"Shorty..." he breathed.

The word unstopped a cork, and hell poured out.


	20. Absolute Power

_A short chapter for you. I hope to have the next up this evening after some editing. I hope you enjoy!!_ _Ps- Thank you all for your support and love!!! You have no idea how much it means to come home after a long day and find out someone has read what I've written. Pure joy. Thank you._ _Shout out to JGio23. It *feels* like an acid trip writing it tbh. And Dragonfly, I hope you feel the same way even when you catch up. I know generally where I'm going, but little twists happen!_ _As always, I do not own Fairy Tail and this is a non-profit story._

 **Chapter 19 Absolute Power**

Shimmering white tiles whipped past Gajeel in a concussive burst, leaving a wave of red death to unfold in its wake. The contrast was so startling he recoiled and found himself on uneven ground; a shifting heap of bones slid against each other beneath his feet. The sound was... hair raising... nauseating.

No matter how impossible his surroundings seemed, the countless desolate hills of corpses long-since rotted away and scattered in bloody darkness, he knew from the shock of fully feeling everything around him for the first time in so long that this was real. Shrimp was here, she was... older… and she was definitely about to be torn apart by several demons.

Somewhere deep in the dragon's gut, a switch was thrown and he snapped.

Gone was the helpless man; he would no longer slave over the visions he was handed. He knew, if change was to happen, the time was now and he was so sure of it he could practically taste certainty. With a wild burst of energy, Gajeel felt Shorty herself fueling him from the inside out. All the admiration, love and commitment alive in him forced its way into his blood.

 _Blood lust._

A shiver ran through his body and shook a tumultuous roar from his mouth, the power of his undying devotion to her surging like pure hot capsaicin in his veins. The mountain of bones around him disintegrated beneath the destructive force of his rage at the thought of ever losing his queen from his side again.

Levy was hurt, she seemed almost insane and desperate and so… tortured… and he would be damned if he'd let Hell itself stand by the time he was done here.

It all would be naught but ash.

The terrible energy drew the villainous bands' attention, and soon only the valiant woman of his dreams stood tall in the pulsing magic. His muscles were building, his limbs elongating and his face sharpening, all growing to a gargantuan size in the cavernous depths. His cries boomed and scraped against her ears, but all she could do was grin and hold her arms out.

"That's right…" she encouraged, and his heart beat twice as fast at the sound of Levy's pure love and adoration for him. "Yes, love, yes! Come!"

He was soaring so high, drunk and driven mad with a need to be near her. Gajeel marveled at how powerful she seemed even all the way down on the shifting ground. He bent to her, pressing the heavy armor of his obsidian snout into her. Levy embraced what she could of him, but a small stretch of his tepid metal nose.

The warmth of her…

His reptilian eyes drifted to the gaping beasts that had huddled, reluctantly it seemed, in front of Bloodman. His face seemed sour, for before him was a sight he couldn't control anymore than he could the tremble in the particles that made his now insignificant form.

A handsome, murderous dragon composed of dark iron scales flexed its bulbous fingers, shifting the mound beneath it. Horns black as a starless sky jutted from its skull, curving crudely behind its silver-dappled forehead. The intelligence in the face staring back at Bloodman made him reflexively cower further behind his minions.

"Who's castle??" Levy sneered again, cackling with her still sharp canines glittering as dangerously as her wild honey eyes. Clicking her tongue after a lacking response, she hoisted herself up and in between the thorny crown of her mate, silver dress flowing between her parted legs. The script mage settled between two knobs above his bloody eyes and shrugged down at her opponent. "Pathetic. Enjoy the rubble I leave for you, degenerate. It's more than you deserve for our trouble."

A nagging tickle in his mind had Gajeel's heavy head cocking, straining to understand what was happening. Then, he heard it.

'...a hole up to the left.' Levy's voice whispered almost as if she were at his ear. 'Fly us up through it and knock that beautiful tail around as you do. We'll cave the bastard in.'

If he had lips, Gajeel would be grinning. Instead, he blew a heavy breath through his nostrils at his adversary, dismissing him entirely.

'Quickly now.' Shorty's voice redirected his attention. The dragon stretched his new appendages and felt the hollowed bones attached to his shoulders bow at the tugging of the skin webbing between them. With a mighty heave, he brought the wings down, throwing skeletal remains in all directions and hoisting his heavy body into the air. Trying to keep his momentum going, he used his whole body to dip into the next hearty flap and he found that they were moving now, forward in the direction of a particularly tall pile of remains.

'I'm so sorry, love. We don't have time for this.' Levy's voice was urgent now and he looked around, alarmed to find swarms of winged ghouls converging on them. 'Do you trust me?' She asked, her question ringing in his skull.

Of course he did, he thought, her love enveloping the words and almost seeming to scoop them harmlessly from his mind. It was a queer feeling, like someone retrieving a particular sweet from a bowl of candy. He loved her, and he would do fucking anything to keep her safe from harm. Death would come for him first before any of these soulless monsters touched her.

'This will not be pleasant,' she said in his mind, placing her dainty hand on one of his shimmering forehead plates, 'but I promise, Gajeel, I'll get us out of here! I swear it on my life!'

The iron dragon was protesting at the thought- it was meant to be his life! His life to give, not hers!

Darkness invaded his mind, but he could feel her cradle him, almost as a mother swaddles her infant. His consciousness pressed soft and warm to her breast, and hiding in the tangles of her brilliant, azure hair.

'I love you. It's just for a little while, I promise, my dragon.'

The mighty dragon shut his eyes, body relaxing enough that gravity took hold of him and he fell. The hungry undead were a few short feet from the dragon when it's eyes re-opened, a feminine galaxy of amber and chocolate swirls replacing masculine crimson.

Levy McGarden was nowhere to be seen, but here mind was alive and well, forcing the weighty drake wings to beat forcefully to right itself. Quick and nimble as if she'd been a reptilian lord of the skies all her life, she ducked and dodged pikes and clawed swipes to her face and vulnerable underbelly. Heavy, club-like tail beating adversaries into each other and scattering their remains to join the heaps beneath her, the script mage rose up and gave a mighty blow to a supporting rock formation.

No piece of his terrible place would be left to stand, if she had anything to do with it.

After bashing a few more jagged columns, Levy made quickly for the gap between a sharp hanging stalactite and a sort of rocky ceiling and thrust herself through. The razor-like claws made quick work of the minimal resistance she felt climbing through after tucking her wings tight behind her shoulders. Quickly navigating the fluctuating tunnel, the narrow way opened into a cavern lit by scattered glowing deep purple stones protruding from the walls. Her presence cast dark shadows across the pale grey stone.

The scraping of ghoulish fingers and pained moans behind her spiked a subdued anxiety deep in her scaled chest and she quickly scrambled into the room, bashing her tail against the entrance. Heavy boulders rained around her, and she yelped, not having meant to bring down the entire cave system while she was inside it.

Levy ducked anf weaved, narrowly missing a particularly sharp looking formation as it fell to the cliff face beside her, into the furthest tunnel in sight. She prayed the hiding place would hold, but knew there was so little she could do now, squeezing the lean but bulky frame through to a shallow den. It was here she curled in on herself and panted, trying to relieve some of the tension in her muscles while being bombarded by the crackling and crashing of Hell itself breaking.

'Gajeel,' she thought, shutting her tired, sharp eyes and placing her claw over her scaley chest. Her heart knocked painfully at the approaching eminent cataclysm that may yet end them both. 'I love you. I'm so sorry I couldn't get to you sooner. If we survive this… you'll never want for anything. I swear it on this shard of me that remains.'

The crashing came closer, the pocket she had made for herself trembling beneath her claws and Levy steeled herself for impact. Maybe this hardened armor that Gajeel had created for himself with the strength of their bond would keep them safe. After all, despite their numerous misfortunes, they were still here.

Still breathing.

Though barely, she admitted to herself, feeling the cold bite of arthritis creeping in her back and knees. Artificial sensations, she told herself. Illusions to slow her progress.

Silence was beginning to reign, the angry chipping noise of stone on stone echoing and slowly falling quiet. 'Mavis…' she sighed in her head, squeezing the soft skin of Gajeel's nape internally. There were tears on his face, and she felt them fall inside her chest. They exploded with the pain and suffering she felt not being able to take this all away from him. Levy didn't know how aware he was in the stasis he'd been placed in, but somewhere in her heart she wished she could convey all the relief, fear and joy she felt at that moment just being near to him again. Truly near to him.

For you see, Levy McGarden was indeed intelligent and she used it as her only meager weapon here in this god-forsaken place. Now that they were alone, she could allow her chest to relax and doing so unleashed the terror she had been subjected to during her ruse. It consumed her, deafened her, and she shuttered.

Levy McGarden held no power at all, beyond the careful crafting of illusion and the battery Gajeel had become for her. He had immense power in this place, being as he was a complete soul, but she was still divided from the essential core still in her Earthland body.

Every moment she spent here with him, he remained vulnerable. His greatest fuel, their love, had been weaponized time after time and she was slowly fading away trying to keep them both safe. Levy would carry on, however, at any cost to keep this surly, beautiful, rambunctous man safe.

She would encourage growth in him, for it was their only salvation in this place and it was all Levy could do not to succumb to the painful paranoia and anxiety Hell provided it's residents. Even now she tenderly rocked, her body diminishing to her fail, aged form and exposing Gajeel to the dank air of the cave. Quietly she wept, tugging at his arm until it was wound around her trembling form.

Keeping him from that violent whisper of discontent was all she wanted in the whole world, but Levy didn't feel strong enough. She would let him down, just like she let down Shadow Gear and the Guild and…

Levy pulled her own hair until she yelped, the pain snapping her out of that very dangerous spiral she had fallen down time after time until it ate her whole. That cruel demon was a sneaky son of a bitch, she would give him that. Now that they were closed off from the rest of Hell, she should have expected mental warfare on his part.

"Damn you, Bloodman." She swore, running her hand across the dragon's arms, her fingers catching on his metal studs.

"Gajeel," she whispered, prying open her wounded heart and feeling the only compass that guided her shine through her chest. "I love you more than words. I regret never having the chance to say it properly."

All was quiet. Still. Subdued.

Bloodman had made a fatal error in taking any part of her with him before he took Gajeel. No matter how bruised she became, her love would keep her strong; of this she was certain. Defiantly she smiled and rolled over, putting her nose in that almost peaceful looking dragonslayer's hair and inhaling deeply.

"You are my reason for living." She breathed into his ear and laying her forehead against his. Curled against him, she almost looked like her younger self without the hard earned wrinkles of time.

"I'll keep you safe. I promise."

Eventually a fitful sleep consumed her, fingers tightening in Gajeel's black, ragged shirt when the nightmares came back for her. Even at rest, however, the dragon drew her close, his slack brow furrowing.

Irony was a fickle thing. Gajeel trying desperately through all of Bloodman's hellish illusions to get to her and keep her safe, and Levy doing the same, putting herself actively in harm's way. It would be hours before they'd wake, and when they did, there would be much to speak of.

Too much to speak of... and yet nothing that could change dire circumstance.


	21. Memories of You

_Doooooouble update for you all today. This. Chapter. Hurt. Me. XD_

 _I hope you enjoy. This is probably the trippiest of them all, and i hope i explained it well enough for you to follow. Let me know what you think. There are bits that refer to previous chapters._

 _Much love and happy reading. I do not own Fairy Tail._

 **Chapter 20 Memories of You**

"What… happened?"

"Shorty??"

"...Is anyone there?...Oh..."

Gajeel felt… odd. His whole body: legs, arms, face… all of it felt smothered tight in a wool blanket. Parts of him itched restlessly to be free, and others reveled in the sea of forced calm. There was light beyond his anesthetized eyelids, and he struggled for some time to open them. Slowly that sheet pulled open and he felt bombarded by brightness, his eyes watering with discomfort when he found the chore of shutting them to be just as difficult.

An unfamiliar home sat before him, silence deafening, but a soft and pleasant violin accompanied Levy's softly dozing breaths. She was nestled in fuzzy blankets, her youthful mouth quirked in a gentle smile. He watched her, unable to do anything else but marvel at the beauty he treasured in her.

So pure… and good.

Levy stirred, and he gazed upon her slender throat meeting the dip in her collar. It felt wrong to see her this way, like he was a creepy voyeur disrupting the otherwise pure setting. Despite all they had been through, he hadn't actually seen her naked, and he felt deeply uncomfortable when she slowly sat up in bed, blanket pooled around her bare waist.

Gajeel's eyes wandered away, wanting to respect her privacy. Something about all of this felt too real… like he'd suddenly been made painfully aware he had been dreaming previously of being with her… how she would look beneath that dress of hers. Embarrassed, he noted an unexpected freckle on her side before he closely examined the more mundane features in the room.

The dark wood of the dresser tinged with pale yellow light from the open, billowing curtains.

The vase of wildflowers poised on a shelf beside a picture frame filled with…

Them.

Gajeel narrowed his eyes, trying to see the photo more clearly. From his awkward position he could barely make out the hulking figure of himself cradling Shrimp bridal style in her famously orange dress with her arms wrapped around his neck. They looked happy.

Funny… he didn't recall this picture being taken.

Levy blocked his view suddenly, having walked to the window. Much to his relief, she'd thrown on a muted lavender silk robe. She threw open the curtain and bathed in the beauty of the morning. The smile she wore was breathtaking, and if he were able, he would have groped at his own chest trying to ease the ache of longing he felt to go to her.

Her mouth opened, her lips moving over silent words. Nothing but that same violin played its relaxing overture.

Suddenly in the corner of his vision, he saw something flicker, his eyes darting to the floor. In bold, white text, there was his name in quotations.

' "Gajeel?" '

What was this… a silent movie? He was seriously beginning get annoyed with the mind games this place played with him.

Levy turned, her hand on the wide oak sill, brow furrowed. Mouth moving again in the same curious shapes, he recognized his own name on her breath.

' "Gajeel???" ' came the letters at the edge of his vision.

He watched her make her way from the room, her dainty, pale feet taking her elegantly across the hardwood floors. The furniture was homey… cottage-like. Everything was worn-in and loved from the dip in the dark blue sofa cushions, to the twin ceramic mugs with coffee stains sitting beside the tub sink to be washed; one with a coral lip print at the mouth.

Gajeel could even smell the coffee mingling with the hardwood structure of the home.

His name was printed twice more before she opened a sliding glass door littered in smudges from handprints. The yard was a lush green, rolling hills and flowering plants accompanied a surrounding grove of trees. Walking to the edge of the cobblestone patio, she hugged the neck of her garb close when a breeze unexpectedly chilled her.

She called to him, a worried line growing in the center of her forehead. The sunlight caught it, and a dark shadow grazed her brow, almost seeming to divide her perfect, heart-shaped face. There was a change in the nature of the stringed instrument that had soothed the scene; now a high, contemplative and weeping piano accompanied it. The two instruments danced sadly against his ears, and Levy seemed to take note of the change herself. With a start she looked up and at him, her brow furrowed skeptically. Under the intensity of her gaze, he longed to squirm out of the way to confirm she wasn't looking right through him.

Unsurprisingly, she waltzed through him but he felt nothing. Eyes seeming to sprout from the back of his head to follow her; an odd feeling he didn't much care for. She approached what looked like a potted fern on the opposite end of the patio, her eyes drawn to an ambient curealean light between the top-most fronds.

Carefully parting a stem aside, she peered into the pot.

From his place beyond Levy's shoulder, Gajeel could see two agitated, dust-colored wings fluttering on the back of a tiny human. A fairy with hair a deeper shade of blue than the giant beside them. Their hair was parted firmly down the center, and stuck out at wild angles from its wide stare up at her.

' "Ah! D-don't eat me!" ' an italic plea appeared as its stunted expression turned fearful. The sprite put its forearms up to shield itself from a potential attack.

Levy drew back, her crouch slowly becoming a less threatening kneel and then her bare legs tucking beneath her despite the ache he was sure she felt from the stone patio. She shook her head and smiled, her eyes round with fascination and awe.

' "Don't worry, I won't hurt you!" ' Came that silent mouth of hers. ' "I heard you crying… is everything alright?" '

The piano sobbed dramatically, the mid morning dew flinging off of the oblong leaflets shading the wee beast from the harsh, cloudless day. It's shivering body was a pale grey-navy, sticking out easily among the greenery. The fairy's nickle of a face was tense with fear, the crystal and ruby mismatched eyes in its head wide and watchful.

Opening its mouth, Gajeel expected more silence with scrolled words. However, halfway through its wordless mouthings there was a sort of static crumbling through the still arguing instruments. It tickled his non-existent ear and he found himself spacing out while the two continued to speak in front of him. There were… voices… maybe.

He closed his heavy eyes with some effort, still feeling drugged and sleepy in the sunlight blanket wrapped around him.

"...-ou are no better."

"...-sn't true! Don't listen to hi-"

"I'm gro- ….-ired of your insolence, white fai-"

Then, he heard his own gravely voice break through a little clearer, and his brow furrowed trying not to lose concentration when the music swelled. It was as if the noise was trying to conceal and distract from the messages hidden amongst audible television grain.

"DON'T YOU TOUCH HER!"

Again the instruments brightened, plinking out of tune and turning sharp to keep Gajeel from listening further. He grit his teeth and stormed through the chaos, searching for that noise again.

"Gajeel... I can't... I can't move!"

The pain he heard in words so familiar burned his throat. He could feel the skin of his lips pierce at the sides from his overly sharp canines. Then, it was like he could feel his mouth moving in time with the echoed plea.

"Levy??? LEVY!! DON'T GO! DON'T LEAVE ME!!"

"...-ake this one aw-... -ave some fun with his fema-"

"NOOO! LET ME GO BACK!"

"You sing a different tu- … -n your female is threate-... write that down. Also prefers to take her… -nd be tortured instead. Really, you humans are SO terribly predictable. How utterly boring."

Something about it all reminded him of horse stables, the smell of grass on the breeze and arguments in the dark… but that didn't make any sense… just some sort of familiar feeling he'd felt before… multiple times even.

Hot tears were sliding down his non-existent cheeks. Gajeel's voice was hoarse and crackled with effort, the strain in his muscles made them all ache and his breath couldn't come fast enough to alleviate him.

It all seemed a distant memory, down to the choking break in his roar that he mouthed as if by reading a script.

"GET YER HANDS OFF ME! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!! LEVY!!! LEVY DON'T LEAVE ME!"

Then, there was a high pitched interruption to the frequency, the static fading and, try as he might he couldn't hear any further hidden messages. His whole being felt heavy and he sniffed. He felt so powerless here in this place.

Opening the jammed doorways of his eyes again, he found Levy still on her pale knees, the fairy sitting in her palm. She was using a finger to slick back the tiny person's hair in an attempt to tame it, her smile soft and thoughtful.

' "Who were you looking for?" ' the text said, the fairy standing and holding its jaw in playful curiosity.

A bewildered, anxious furrow to Levy's brow caught Gajeel off guard. It wasn't an expression he had ever seen on her. He didn't think she had ever been confused or lost in all her life yet there it was, marring her perfect face and making her appear almost unintelligent.

Her mouth moved slowly, still no voice to be found in this increasingly frightening memory.

' "...I… don't recall." ' The words read and his heart broke.

She'd never forget him… never...

This place was evil. He felt it now, simmering and spitting beneath them like a hidden lava flow. Any place capable of rendering his Shrimp completely ignorant like this was full of old, dark magic the likes of which he had never experienced even while Fairy Tail fought demons of Zeref and the Spriggan.

The fairy laughed an impish, terribly silent , ' "Hehe hehe!' " and took to the air in front of Levy, tapping her upturned nose with a tiny foot. ' "And what is your name?" '

If Gajeel had a mouth, he would have gasped as he watched Shorty frown in thought.

What had they done to her?!

Where was his girl?!?

' "Oh!" ' the italic text read and the fairy took off like a shot a little ways down a dirt path that lead out to an even wider roadway, just a quarter mile from the cottage. ' "You live here, right?? So your name should be on the fancy box you silly humans put notes in!" '

Levy stared after the fairy for a moment before her eyes lit up dumbly and she rose to her feet, jogging with an almost excited glow in her small child-like smile. Gajeel rushed after her, feeling a grave expression tugging his mouth into a frown he didn't actually posses.

A row of three mail boxes crept into view and he watched her approach with dirty feet the centermost metal container. It was made of silver, rusty tin but there was a blurry red smear of paint on the side of it.

' "What's it say, White Fairy?" ' The blue blur of light asked, hovering around Levy's shoulder.

"Damn you, Bloodman." Levy's broken voice whispered in the dragon's ear, surprising him enough that he would have jumped if that were possible.

The mailbox shifted, dents in the metal popping back out again into a more perfect shape. The red from the smear spread and became thick, coating the exterior in little circular swipes. It was like watching an invisible someone scrub off the paint in reverse. Eventually the red saturated the entire container and little white acrylic flowers sprouted all over the outside… Then big block letters.

' "Emmaline and Le-" ' worked Levy's silent mouth.

' "Emmaline!" ' The fairy cheered nastily before she could finish her thought, pulling at a strand of Shrimp's hair and distracting her from the writing. ' " What a pretty name!" '

' "...and Levy McGarden." ' she finished, her brow drawn together with concentration.

"Gajeel," Came Levy's whispered voice in his ear once again. "I love you more than words. I regret never having the chance to say it properly."

The dragon whimpered, and the woman in front of him seemed to notice for a moment, her eyes searching the space where he stood in alarm.

' "What's a 'Levy'?" ' The Fairy mouthed in the increasing silence. The music was dying, and with it, the last of the sure thoughts in her eyes.

"You are my reason for living." Levy murmured, her lips tickling his ear.

His vision flickered, seeing himself reaching out across a dimly lit room, spit flying from his enraged mouth as he struggled beneath the hold of several very physically competent looking beasts. It was some sort of… laboratory, given the presence of glass tubes, burners, computer systems with wires entering and exiting walls…

A trembling, pale hand bruised a bit purple reached out toward his thrashing form. Levy's bracelet hung from the wrist, and the harsh halogen lights lit up her deep blue lashes and created a lapis lazuli halo around the view.

"I'll keep you safe. I promise." The voice boomed around him while that same gentle tickle of warm breath hit his lobe with an echo. Her fingers stretched over foggy glass in front of her, making a small squeak. Gajeel's heart squeezed painfully hearing Levy's quickened, anxious breathing as the only oddly claustrophobic sound. Looking to her left, he could see she was encased… a giant test tube. He shuddered at the thought of what they'd done and would continue to do to her. A jagged, deep purple face grinned at her from the opposite side of the green glass.

Funny… he thought Bloodman looked quite a bit younger than he had in that large cavern. There was more muscle and meat spread over his skeletal cheeks and neck. There was light in his eyes where when he had just seen him, they appeared more sullen, sunk into the deep, boney recesses.

He came closer into view as Levy drew nearer until he towered over her, sure and strong as any king and just as smug. Yet her breath was controlled, evenly spaced despite a throbbing in her ears giving away her nerves. Bloodman had lost the battle with Fairy tail, but he had won the war by taking one of their strongest warriors with him. He had a reason to grin like the heartless bastard he was.

Gajeel had never killed a man before… but a face like that staring at Short Stack like that made him CERTAIN he was capable.

"I take it thou wonders what shall become of thee now, young one." He eyed her critically, hands clasped behind his back, out of view beyond his dark clothes. He was without a care in the world. "To be frank, I am unsure myself. A mere piece of thou hast entered my domain and not entirely on purpose. However," he continued, tilting his head to look down at her in an even more menacing manor, "...I cannot say thou being here is… inconvenient for my agenda. The dragon's welp will no doubt break in a much more… splendorous way with his betrothed here as leverage."

The edge of Levy's vision was black, her eyes focussed entirely on the cold, dead eyes in those sunken sockets. "So I am to be your puppet." She summarized, the green-tinted glass fogging further as she spoke. "How childish to weaponize and exploit love for further gain… if I AM frank."

There was a slight twitch to Bloodman's right eye that didn't go unnoticed, if the amused bump of Levy's lower eyelid on one side was any indication. Gajeel knew by heart that almost arrogant smirk she got when strategy unfolded in a way she suspected it would.

Fear tickled his spine. What was she up to?? Why would she provoke someone that would have so much power over her?

"Be that as it may," the reaper growled, mouth twisting into an even more rigid and unkind sneer. "...dost thou really think thy opinion matters? Lest thou forget thy current… unfortuitous and bleak position."

Levy hummed condescendingly, the fog on the glass so thick now she could barely see the devil beyond it. "Query: Do you know what makes a Fairy Tail wizard an absolute bastard to get rid of, your highness?" Her tone was lecturing, the thick cloud against the glass crawling further as she spoke.

Bloodman said nothing, his gaze calculating and boring into hers.

"We stick together, learn from one another, and we will do damn near everything to keep each other safe. It is the way of true nakama." She said, absently looking down at the steamy smear she created and drawing her finger against it. "Not that I expect a social degenerate like yourself to understand such things…"

The reaper seemed to remember himself and his upper hand, his body physically relaxing. It was like she could see him tell himself internally her words meant nothing. The bump of her smile appeared in the other cheek.

...her "checkmate" face?? What was she doing??

"My guild mates and I grew up together," she continued, her fingers continuing to slowly sweep against the glass. Her initial sweep became an 'H' and she lazily drew a circle beside it. "We have been through absolutely every terrible and inconvenient scenario I can think of. One of our wizards can get through anything if they play to their strengths."

She sighed, the fog spreading once more where it had started to fade. "As you can see, however, physical strength is not my forte. That would be more Gajeel's skill set. However," she drew another line beside the circle and the dragon had to wonder where she was going with this. The quick look given to Bloodman's arched brow confirmed she was confusing her jailer. Her voice became deadly quiet, drawing him forward to hear her better. "...my power lies in my mind. I'll be damned if I'm going to be broken of my wit, you coward."

Another line with a tail parted the grey green condensation.

"We shall see." Was his amused response. He turned, one eye still trained on her over his shoulder.

The letter 'C' was scrolled next.

"Thou hast only just arrived," He purred, turning His head back around. "To think thou has tasted more than a morsel of pure terror is ignorance in itself." He continued to taunt her while her hand shot from the glass beneath the field of vision, only the latter half of her knobby bruised knuckles visible. Her hand came back into full,view, her thumb and middle fingers squeezing a dot of blood flowing from a knick in her index.

She swiped a line through the center of her 'C' with the deep red dripping from her digit.

"HOLE" it read.

Gajeel felt her inhale quickly and press her palm against the word. A circular block of glass pushed through and fell to the ground with a clank. When Bloodman began to turn back to examine the noise, Levy quickly grabbed his wrist and yanked, pulling it through into her prison.

The death god, taken by surprise, flinched but not hard enough to shake her off. Levy's finger scrolled four messy, bloody runes against his forearm. "Dark Erciture: Pain!" She growled. The script glowed a festering orange red.

'No…' Gajeel thought, his throat closing up, choking him. Any magic done with blood… was so reckless… so dangerous… evil... He wasn't surprised in the slightest to see her using Freed's magic- script and rune magic were so similar... but all the same... 'What is this!?!'

Bloodman shrieked, throwing his head back and collapsing onto a knee as she pulled his arm in just past the shoulder joint. She anchored his arm uncomfortably against the glass with all her weight. His limbs were shivering, shaking in pain, his chest beginning to disintegrate back into magic barrier particles.

Squeezing more blood from her finger, she wrote more runes, her heart hammering. On the final rune, Gajeel watch,her hesitate to swipe the last leg of the letter in place, but Bloodman was beginning to struggle, the particles making their way closer to her indecisive hands. Finally finishing the letter she almost cried with regret, "Dark Erciture: Fear!"

Bloodman's eyes bulged, the particles halting their progress with the distraction and the characters staining the glass inside her prison with that same evil aura. She let him go, his arm flying back through the hole as he tripped over his own feet, desperately trying to right himself on the white tiles he slid against. Without hesitation she scrolled a larger hole for herself and climbed through, standing over the weeping man as Bloodman pushed weakly against the floor away from the view. His back sat against a dimly-lit island cupboard with cruel looking devices littering its top.

"Listen well," Levy's voice boomed, her callous and sharp words, making Gajeel want to flinch as much as the bastard on the floor did at the cold sound. She pointed her red stained finger in his face, towering over the desperately whimpering man with one eye shut, bracing to be struck. Silver black scales crawled the exposed flesh in the picture, claws replacing her dainty digits. "I am versed in many tongues and have read about the proper use of hundreds of killing magic spells. You may hold domain over this place for now, but if you DARE touch a hair on his head I'll find a way worse than death to utterly decimate you. Come for us, and I will not hesitate. Have I made myself transparent enough for you, Spriggan excrement??"

Bloodman said nothing, pulling his cloak tightly around his shoulders and looking at the hard floor beneath his backside.

"Hmmf." Levy grunted, turning without fear of repercussions and pushing through the lab doorway. Making her way down a dark passage, she found the halls went on forever, her wild heart hammering when she found her reflection in the glass window to a laboratory.

Amongst the sky-colored curls on her crown, laid a shocking streak of silver. Transfixed on the contrasting wave, her tired eyes examined it, an exhausted frown on her face.

"Damn it." She whimpered to herself. "I have to find him."

Rosy colors slowly crept into Gajeel's vision. A bright, synthetic sunny day was creeping all around him, leaving the reality of the past behind. Slowly, the piano and violin rewound themselves, time moving backwards as he watched the sun rise in the west and fall in the east. His chest hurt, his mind leaping from image to image of Levy walking in reverse around the property. She slammed herself violently against trees and the hard wood siding of her childhood home. All the while shrieking, calling out "!!leejaG" over. And over. And over.

Nothing was said, yet the silence was so powerfully loud, he tried to cover his ears but remembered he didn't have them, or hands for that matter.

Blood seeped from her screaming mouth, spitting and coloring her prison in what remained of her life force. Yet still she rammed her broken body into her surroundings begging to be found, begging to find him.

Over.

And over.

OVER AND OVER AND OVER!

OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER!

He tried to shout at her but that terrible locked-limb feeling of sleep paralysis swaddled him too tight and he forgot how to breath.

"Wake up, Emmaline." A rancid breath breathed in his ear.

His mad eyes opened and he flailed, body jerking awake, armor clinging tightly to his shuttering body.

"Gajeel??"

He scrambled away from the noise, his throat clenched and stomach bile creeping into his mouth to further burn him up. The dragon coughed some of the offending liquid onto the rocky dirt floor and heaved breath after breath in and out of his lungs.

"Hey… oh… oh I'm so sorry… I'm so so sorry." The voice continued, and Gajeel finally sought the source, his crimson gaze falling on a slightly disheveled looking Levy, her silver locks clinging to her sweating forehead.

His breath evened out after a moment of silence and he swallowed, testing his throat. "Shrimp?" He grunted, smoothing some of the perspiration from his own forehead.

She smiled weakly back at him, the small gesture not meeting her eyes. "Normally I'd give you hell for calling me that, but… Mavis… it's good to see you and know who you are."

Despite her words, he remained where he was, crouched like a beast with ample room between them.

Levy didn't appear offended, only settling back down onto the ground on her side and facing him. "It was a dream, wasn't it?" She said solemly, already knowing the answer.

There was nothing he could say, his eyes wet with confusion as they darted. Around their surroundings.

"I get them every time I sleep." She admitted and closed her heavy lids.

"You get used to it." She sighed, and he watched her fall into herself.


End file.
